Test your knowledge of the most devastating floods in history and their effects on humans and the environment.
What is the name of the device used to measure the pressure of water during a flood?
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Piezometer
What is the name of the river that flooded in Romania in 1970, causing significant damage?
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Danube River
Which country experienced the deadliest flood in history?
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China
What is the primary cause of urban flooding?
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Impervious surfaces
Which of the following can cause floods?
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All of the above
Which of these is NOT a potential effect of deforestation on flooding?
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Increased evapotranspiration
What is the term for the process by which water enters the soil?
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Infiltration
What is the term for a flood that occurs when a dam or levee fails?
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Catastrophic flood
What is a 100-year flood?
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A flood that has a 1% chance of occurring in any given year
What is the term for a flood that occurs when an ice jam blocks a river's flow?
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Ice jam flood
What is the name of the river that flooded in Venezuela in 1999, causing thousands of deaths?
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Vargas River
What is the name of the device used to measure the amount of rainfall during a flood?
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Rain Gauge
What is the term for a temporary rise in sea level due to atmospheric pressure changes and wind?
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Storm surge
What is the main cause of flash floods in arid regions?
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Intense rainfall
Which of these is NOT a common cause of dam failure?
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Animal burrowing
What is a glacier?
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A slowly moving mass or river of ice formed by the accumulation and compaction of snow on mountains or near the poles
What is a fire whirl?
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A phenomenon in which a fire acquires a vertical vorticity and forms a whirl, or a tornado-like vertically oriented rotating column of air
Which of these factors increases the risk of flooding in mountainous areas?
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Steep slopes
What is the name of the scale used to classify the severity of river floods in the United States?
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NWS River Forecast System
What is the name of the river that flooded in China in 1931, causing one of the deadliest natural disasters in history?
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Yangtze River
What is sleet?
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A mixture of rain and snow
What is a haboob?
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A type of intense dust storm carried on an atmospheric gravity current, also known as a weather front
What is the name of the type of flood that occurs when a river or stream overflows its banks due to excessive rainfall?
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Riverine Flood
Which of these is NOT a common method of flood control?
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Cloud seeding
What is a cyclone?
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A system of winds rotating around a center of low atmospheric pressure, typically characterized by a spiral arrangement of cumulonimbus clouds
Which of these factors does NOT affect the velocity of river flow during a flood?
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Air temperature
What is the name of the type of flood that occurs when a dam or levee fails?
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Dam Failure Flood
What is the term for a flood that occurs when heavy rainfall overwhelms a city's drainage system?
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Urban flood
What is the name of the river that flooded in France in 1910, causing significant damage to Paris?
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Seine River
What is a typhoon?
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A mature tropical cyclone that develops in the western part of the North Pacific Ocean between 180° and 100°E
What is the name of the river that flooded in Australia in 2011, causing extensive damage?
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Brisbane River
Which of these factors does NOT contribute to the severity of a flood?
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Air pressure
Which type of flood occurs when a river overflows its banks?
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River flood
What is the term used to describe a sudden local flood of great volume, usually caused by heavy rain?
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Flash Flood
Which of these is NOT a factor that affects the infiltration capacity of soil?
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Wind speed
What is the name of the device used to measure the depth of water during a flood?
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Flood Gauge
In which year did the Great Flood of China occur, causing millions of deaths?
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1931
What is a nor'easter?
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A macro-scale storm along the East Coast of North America, so called because the winds over coastal areas are typically from the northeast
What is a tornado?
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A mobile, destructive vortex of violently rotating winds having the appearance of a funnel-shaped cloud and advancing beneath a large storm system
What is the name of the tropical storm that caused severe flooding in Houston, Texas in 2017?
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Hurricane Harvey
What is a floodplain?
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An area of low-lying ground adjacent to a river, formed mainly of river sediments and subject to flooding
What is the name of the river that flooded in Thailand in 2011, causing billions of dollars in damage?
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Chao Phraya River
What is the name of the process where sediment settles out of water during a flood?
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Sedimentation
Which of these terms refers to the volume of water passing through a river channel per unit time?
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Discharge
What is the minimum depth of water required for a flood to be classified as a 'major flood'?
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10 feet
What is the term for the maximum height of a river during a flood event?
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Flood stage
What is the name of the type of flood that occurs in urban areas due to excessive runoff from impervious surfaces?
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Urban Flood
What is the name of the river that flooded in Mozambique in 2000, causing widespread damage?
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Limpopo River
What is black ice?
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A thin coating of glazed ice on a surface, especially a road, that is difficult to see
What is the term for a sudden, localized flood caused by heavy rainfall?
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Flash flood
What is the term for a structure designed to divert excess water from a river during a flood?
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Spillway
Which type of flood is caused by storm surges and high tides?
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Coastal flood
What is the term for a large mass of ice breaking off from a glacier and falling into a body of water?
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Ice calving
What is the name of the river that flooded in India in 2008, affecting millions of people?
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Kosi River
What is a waterspout?
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A small-diameter column of rapidly swirling air in contact with a water surface
What is a drought?
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A prolonged period of abnormally low rainfall, leading to a shortage of water
What is the name of the device used to pump water out of flooded areas?
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Sump Pump
What is a storm surge?
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A rise in sea level that occurs during a hurricane or tropical storm
What is the name of the dam that failed and caused catastrophic flooding in Johnstown, Pennsylvania in 1889?
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South Fork Dam
Which of these is NOT a potential benefit of flooding?
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Reduced soil erosion
What is the term for the highest point on a riverbank that remains dry during a flood?
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Floodway
What is the term for a long, narrow embankment built parallel to a river to prevent flooding?
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Levee
What is the name of the river that flooded in Russia in 2013, causing widespread damage?
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Amur River
What is the name of the process where soil particles are carried away by water during a flood?
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Erosion
What is a monsoon?
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A seasonal prevailing wind in the region of South and Southeast Asia, blowing from the southwest between May and September and bringing rain (the wet monsoon), or from the northeast between October and April (the dry monsoon)
What is the name of the river that flooded in Pakistan in 2010, affecting over 20 million people?
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Indus River
What is the name of the organization that provides flood insurance to homeowners in the United States?
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National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP)
What is frost?
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A thin layer of ice that forms on surfaces when the temperature drops below freezing point
What is the name of the process where sediment is deposited by water during a flood?
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Deposition
What is the name of the type of flood that occurs when a storm surge causes seawater to inundate coastal areas?
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Coastal Flood
What is the name of the phenomenon where a floodplain becomes completely submerged in water?
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Inundation
What is the name of the river that flooded in Myanmar in 2008, causing thousands of deaths?
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Irrawaddy River
What is the purpose of a floodplain?
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To store excess water during floods
Which of these is NOT a typical effect of flooding on ecosystems?
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Decreased nutrient availability
What is the name of the levee that breached during Hurricane Katrina, leading to massive flooding in New Orleans?
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London Avenue Canal Levee
What is the name of the river that flooded in Argentina in 2013, causing widespread destruction?
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Paraná River
What is a levee?
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A man-made structure designed to prevent flooding by holding back water
What is the name of the system used by the National Weather Service to issue flood warnings?
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Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service (AHPS)
What is the name of the river that flooded in New Orleans, Louisiana in 2005, causing widespread devastation?
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Mississippi River
Which country is most prone to floods?
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Bangladesh
What is the name of the device used to measure the speed and direction of water flow during a flood?
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Current Meter
What is the term for the area that contributes water to a river system?
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Watershed
Which of these weather events is most likely to cause widespread flooding?
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Hurricane
What is a blizzard?
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A severe snowstorm with high winds and low visibility
Which natural phenomenon can trigger floods by causing rapid snowmelt?
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Heatwave
Which of these factors does NOT influence the formation of ice jams?
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Tidal fluctuations
Which of these is NOT a potential consequence of flooding?
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Ozone depletion
Which of these is NOT a potential impact of climate change on flooding?
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Decreased storm frequency
What is a hailstorm?
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A storm consisting of balls or irregular lumps of ice, usually accompanied by rain, and sometimes by thunder and lightning
What is a heat wave?
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A prolonged period of excessively hot weather, which may be accompanied by high humidity
What is a polar vortex?
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A persistent, large-scale cyclone located near one or both of a planet's geographical poles
What is a dust devil?
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A small, rapidly rotating wind that is made visible by the dust, dirt or debris it picks up
What is a sinkhole?
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A depression or hole in the ground caused by some form of collapse of the surface layer
What is flash flooding?
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A rapid and extreme flow of high water into a normally dry area
What is a dam?
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A barrier constructed to hold back water and raise its level, forming a reservoir used for the generation of electricity or as a water supply
What is hail suppression?
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The intentional manipulation of hail-producing thunderstorms in an attempt to minimize the damage caused by hailstones
What is a tsunami?
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A series of ocean waves with very long wavelengths (typically several hundred kilometers) caused by large-scale disturbances of the ocean, such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and landslides
What is a flood?
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An overflow of water onto land that is normally dry