Hobbies And Interests
Mississippi River
In North America, the Mississippi River is notorious for its epic floods. In 1927, weeks of heavy rain swelled the river. The only line of defense was the Army Corps of Engineers levee system, and it failed. At some points the river grew to 70 miles wide. The worst flooding ever recorded occurred in 1993. The whole length of the Mississippi River and most of its tributaries were affected. Over 1,000 levees failed, and total damage was estimated at $15-20 billion.
Johnstown Flood
In 1889, the city of Johnstown, Pa. was destroyed by a massive and not entirely natural flooding disaster. Upstream from the town, the poorly designed and maintained South Fork Dam gave way and unleashed a 60-foot-high wall of water. Over 2,000 people died in the torrent. Debris from the town lodged against a railroad bridge and caught fire, killing many who had escaped drowning. The Johnstown Flood was one of the worst disasters in American history, and bad engineering practices were largely to blame.
The Netherlands
A large portion of the Netherlands is built on top of reclaimed land, areas that were once underwater but have been drained through hi-tech engineering and brute force. Some of these reclaimed lands are at or even below sea level. Their vulnerability to flooding is high, as history demonstrates. A seawall collapse in 1953 led to the drowning of almost 2,000 people. Flood-control measure in the Netherlands today are among the best in the world.
Yellow River
The Yellow River in China is the deadliest in the world in terms of flooding. A flood in 1931 killed almost 4 million people. The high concentration of silt in the water has caused the river banks to build up higher than much of the surrounding valley. The Chinese have been attempting to control the Yellow's fury for hundreds of years. Recently, the massive Xiaolangdi Multipurpose Dam Project was undertaken as a means to hopefully end the catastrophic floods for which the Yellow River is so famous.
Cyclones in Bangladesh
The low-lying estuaries of Bangladesh have a long history of deadly tropical cyclones. The geography of Bangladesh facilitates high, destructive tropical cyclone storm surges. The Bhola Cyclone of 1970 killed as many as half a million people. Because of the nation's impoverished state, there was no way to warn people of the impending storm. After Bhola passed, it was difficult to get food and medicine to the people that needed it most.
Tsunami
Undersea earthquakes can shift the sea floor, causing a pulse of energy to move out in all directions. When this energy approaches land, it builds into a powerful rush of water called a tsunami. A large tsunami can travel for miles inland and destroy everything in its path. The 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami was the deadliest such event in modern history, wiping out cities and killing over 200,000 people. Fortunately, tsunami prediction networks in the Pacific Ocean are effective at saving lives.