Provide a 7 pages analysis while answering the following question: Effects of Floods. Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found in the APA Style Guide. An abstract is required.

Provide a 7 pages analysis while answering the following question: Effects of Floods. Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found in the APA Style Guide. An abstract is required. The effects of floods may be limited to either a small area or a wide area. The United Kingdom is one of those countries that are greatly affected by a flood over the last 3-4 years. In 2007 the country saw one of the most devastating floods in its history. This report includes the major causes of floods. Furthermore, the significant risks and immediate impacts that are caused by the floods are also included in this report. Moreover, the report identifies various agencies and their role in the massive flood that took place in 2007 in Sheffield. An effective environmental management system should be in place to deal with situations like a flood. In this report, the effectiveness of such a system is evaluated. Lastly, the report contains a conclusion that includes the summary and major findings of the research.

There are several contributory factors that cause a flood. A particular incident of flood can be seen as a result of either one contributing factor or multiple contributing factors. Floods can be divided into two separate categories namely river flood and coastal flood. There are three different hazards that cause these two types of floods. These are atmospheric hazards, technologic hazards, and tectonic hazards. Each of these hazards actually results in several other contributing factors like rainfall, ice jam, snowmelt, landslides, dam failures, tsunamis and storm surges. These factors can be considered as the major contributory factors that lead to floods. A clear picture can be obtained from the following figure.

Atmospheric hazards like rainfall, landslides and ice jam are the main causes of river floods. Among them, rainfall is perhaps the most important as well as the most common cause. Excessive rainfalls that vary from random convectional storms to semi-predictable seasonal rains can cause flash floods as well as annual floods in the tropical regions. The areal coverage and duration of the rainfall are dependent on the precipitation. In the words of Keith Richards&nbsp.the more intense the precipitation is beyond a flood-producing threshold, the lesser is its duration and areal coverage.”&nbsp.