Flooding can have many different effects on the environment and on societies that are situated near flood risk areas. Floods can destroy drainage and sewer systems in cities causing sewage to contaminate other bodies of water which in turn can lead to the spread of water borne diseases.
With toxic materials being released into rivers, lakes and reservoirs the impact on both the natural environment and human civilisation can be enormous. Marine life can be killed in large numbers due to this pollution, while clean drinking water for humans can become scarce as a result. Crops can be affected, destroying foodstuffs and leading to starvation if the wrong areas are hit.
Floods can also cause erosion which can have all sorts of effects depending on the situation. One of the most serious of these is a possible landslide. Property, houses and other buildings can all be destroyed while cars can find attempting to drive in flooded conditions treacherous.
Of course, there is a certain amount of natural flooding which occurs in rivers, and it should be realised that the lakes and watercourses we see today are all the result of flooding in one form or another over history. It is a good example of the Buddhist doctrine of impermanence and it is only really the human point of view which looks at flooding and sees it as a natural disaster because really it is just water moving from one place to another, it just may be inconvenient for us. We should remember that floods can spread sediment containing beneficial nutrients to topsoil that would otherwise not receive it.
With toxic materials being released into rivers, lakes and reservoirs the impact on both the natural environment and human civilisation can be enormous. Marine life can be killed in large numbers due to this pollution, while clean drinking water for humans can become scarce as a result. Crops can be affected, destroying foodstuffs and leading to starvation if the wrong areas are hit.
Floods can also cause erosion which can have all sorts of effects depending on the situation. One of the most serious of these is a possible landslide. Property, houses and other buildings can all be destroyed while cars can find attempting to drive in flooded conditions treacherous.
Of course, there is a certain amount of natural flooding which occurs in rivers, and it should be realised that the lakes and watercourses we see today are all the result of flooding in one form or another over history. It is a good example of the Buddhist doctrine of impermanence and it is only really the human point of view which looks at flooding and sees it as a natural disaster because really it is just water moving from one place to another, it just may be inconvenient for us. We should remember that floods can spread sediment containing beneficial nutrients to topsoil that would otherwise not receive it.
