Coastal flooding

prefLabel
  • coastal flooding
definition
  • Flooding of normally dry, low-lying coastal land, primarily caused by severe weather events along the coast, estuaries, and adjoining rivers.
inScheme
broader
Abstract from DBPedia
    Coastal flooding normally occurs when dry and low-lying land is submerged by seawater. The range of a coastal flooding is a result of the elevation of floodwater that penetrates the inland which is controlled by the topography of the coastal land exposed to flooding. Flood damage modelling was limited to local, regional or national scales. However, with the presence of climate change and an increase in the population rates, flood events have intensified and called for a global interest in finding out different methods with both spatial and temporal dynamics. The seawater can flood the land via several different paths: direct flooding, overtopping of a barrier, breaching of a barrier. Coastal flooding is largely a natural event, however human influence on the coastal environment can exacerbate coastal flooding. Extraction of water from groundwater reservoirs in the coastal zone can instigate subsidence of the land, thus increasing the risk of flooding. Engineered protection structures along the coast such as sea walls alter the natural processes of the beach, often leading to erosion on adjacent stretches of the coast which also increases the risk of flooding. Moreover, sea level rise and extreme weather caused by climate change will increase the intensity and amount of coastal flooding affecting hundreds of millions of people.

    (Source: http://dbpedia.org/resource/Coastal_flooding)