Anthony Gallo Mrs. Fisher 5 th grade

Sometimes icy or melting ground can make floods worse. When the soil can’t soak up any more water, it will send extra water into a river. A flood is like a big storm that destroys everything in it’s way.

Floods can be caused by hurricanes and thunderstorms. When water from a river, lakes, or oceans overflow onto the land around it, the area floods. Too much rain or melting snow are the main causes of flood.

Any area that is flat and barely above sea level makes it prone to flooding.

In 1889 in Johnstown, Pennsylvania had flash floods that killed thousands of people because their area flooded in a very short time.

It can flood roads. It can stop planes from leaving. It can flood train stations and subways.

Most floods are harmful. They may destroy homes and other property and even carry away soil, leaving the land barren. Barren land is land that crops will not grow on. People try to control floods by building dams and channels.

Some floods are helpful. For example, the yearly floods of the Nile River left rich soil that made the Nile Valley one of the best regions in the world for growing crops.

River floods happen more often, but lake and seacoast floods can do even more damage.

Floods are one of the most common hazards in the United States, however not all floods are alike. Some floods develop slowly, while others such as flash floods, can develop in just a few minutes and without visible signs of rain.

Drohan, Michele Ingber. Floods. New York: PowerKids Press, Print.