Cause of the Floods

Which of the following words are natural disasters? (More than one answer may be correct).

• Flood

• Earthquake

• Airplane crash

• Typhoon

Which of the following are included as causes for floods in the reading passage?

• large lakes

• poorly built roads

• melting snow

• Drought

How does deep snow cause flooding?

• Melting snow causes flooding

• Too much rain causes flooding

• Sudden warm temperatures combined with heavy rains causes flooding

• Freezing water causes flooding

What is the most common natural disaster?

• flood

• fire

• wind damage

• rain

Why does saturated ground contribute to flooding problems?

• the ground cannot absorb more moisture

• the ground is too hard, so the water runs off

• the ground forms a kind of dam

• it remains frozen

A broken human-made dam is compared to what?

• a tsunami

• a tidal wave

• a broken ice dam

• overflowing

How does melting snow cause problems related to flooding?

• It makes the rivers run too fast

• It makes the water too cold

• It causes pieces of ice to block the river

• It makes the level of the river rise

How far can dam water travel when it is unleashed from a broken dam?

• less than 10 kilometres

• tens of kilometres

• thousands of kilometres

• tens of thousands of kilometres downstream

What kinds of problems can floods cause?

• death

• widespread damage

• destruction of plants and animals

• all of the above

Which of the following best describes how a frozen river can cause a flood?

• The ice in the river melts too quickly and causes a flood.

• The ice in the river cracks causing the water to overflow.

• The ice in the river cracks into pieces that eventually create a dam causing the water to overflow.

• The water behind the ice dam collects and when the dam breaks, it causes flooding upstream.