How Floods Start

2/25/2020 (Permalink)

Flash floods come from heavy rain, ice or debris jams, and dam, or levee breaks.

Flooding is a concern all year long for Northern California regions. Flooding will usually occurs when there is a lot of rainfall in an area at one given time. Weather is not always the cause of a flood; they also occur when there is a failure from a water control structure like a levee or dam.

Flooding often occurs when rainfall or snow melting accumulates faster than soils can absorb or when rivers can’t carry the excess water away fast enough. The most common flood hazards in the local regions is from flash floods. 

Flash flooding happens at least 6 hours of the cause of the flood. Flash floods come from heavy rain, ice or debris jams, and dam, or levee breaks. Low-lying areas further away from heavy rain or large snowmelt are more susceptible to flooding than other areas.

Common means for flooding in the local Citrus Heights, Carmichael, and Roseville area is: 

• River flooding often occurs when river levels are rising and these rivers overflow. River flooding often happens in dry areas.
• Burn scars/debris flow flooding usually will occur after a wildfire. Vegetation burns away and soil properties are altered. This leaves the area with a bare ground unable to absorb the moisture that comes from rainfall. When a burn scar is rained upon the water runs across the surface to the lowest point of the ground.
• Snowmelts from mountainous regions cause much of the flooding from the rivers in the local area. Once the snow melts and reaches the soil, the water doesn’t absorb properly because it is too much water for the soil. The snow melts and runs into rivers and lakes and gets to full, thus causing floods.
• Dam or levees can break and cause major flooding. According to FEMA and the National Inventory of Dams (2007), there are over 80,000 dams in the United States and one-third of these dams can become a significant hazard if failure or mishap occurs from the structure. Dam failure and levee problems can happen with no warning at all. Causes of failure can come from natural causes like rainfall, landslides, earthquakes, or erosion by humans, etc.   

If your home or business experiences flooding a water mitigation and restoration company will have to assist in the damages. This is not something a home or business owner should take on themselves. 

The damage will need to be inspected right away. Water removal and extraction must begin right away to avoid more costly damages from other costly issues like that of mold. Once the area has been rid of the water, the drying and dehumidification process must begin. Know what to do and know who to call in case a water emergency occurs.