WHAT IS FLOOD?
CAUSES OF FLOOD AND CONTROL

According to Merrian-Websters Dictionary, Flood is a rising and overflowing of a body of water especially onto normally dry land. It could also be defined as condition of overflowing rivers or water, especially over land not usually submerged. In other words flood is said to have occurred when there is excess water surpassing the limits of it confines.

In Ghana flood is one of the most devastating natural disasters which impact negatively on the life and properties of people. For example property worth 265,186,423 million cedis was destroyed according to government authorities.

Nationwide NADMO indicates that 19,755 people are affected of which 6,586 are children.
Health authorities confirmed 16 deaths,7 in Accra,3 in Kumasi,2 in Takoradi and 1 in Cape Coast and two others.-16th July ,2009,(DREF OPERATION NO.mdrghoo2 Glide no. FL-2009-000132-GHA. 16 July, 2009)

CAUSES OF FLOOD

There are two main causes of flood. These are
The natural causes and the human causes.

NATURAL CAUSES OF FLOOD
A) High rainfall.
Heavy rains raise the water level. When the water level gets higher than the river bank or the dams, the water forces its way out from the river often leading to a condition of flooding.
b) Snow melt.
The alarming effect of global warming is leading to increase in temperature higher than the temperature of many years ago. The ice caps melt in spring, therefore these water find its way into the sea. As a result of this, the sea level is raised leading to flooding.
3) Relief.
Flooding often occurs in the lowland. This is because rivers flow more slowly in the low-lying areas. If the water volume increases suddenly, floods may occur.
4) Coastal flooding. Flooding always occur in the coastal areas. This is because of the high nature of the tides and storms. The sea level therefore increases when it rains. If the sea level gets higher than the level of the coastal lowland, flooding will occur.

THE HUMAN CAUSES OF FLOOD
1) Deforestation.
When large areas of forest have been cleared and the lands used for settlement, roads and farmlands, less vegetation tend to protect the soil. The soil is quickly lost to rivers, rains and the sea. This raises the river bed, so the river overflows its bank easily leading to flooding. Deforested areas will have no trees to soak up water, so more water flows over; the area may have no trees to bind the soil together, so erosion takes place. Large amount of soil are therefore washed away leading to flooding anytime it rains.

2) Poor farming.
Some farming practices can damage the vegetation cover, so the soil will be washed away easily anytime it rains. Once the soil can easily be washed away, the likelihood of floods occurring is very high.
 Overgrazing
Too many animals are grazed on on the land as a result the pasture is eaten away quickly. The vegetation cover is therefore affected making the soil bare and vulnerable to flooding when it rains.
 Over-cultivation
When a piece of land has been used for farming for a long period of time, the soil may become infertile that no vegetation can grow on it. The land less fertile than before and so washed easily is creating room for flooding.

3) Poor drainage system
Most cities in Ghana are either without proper drainage system or these drainages are chocked by debris or waste materials not giving enough room for free flow of running water until such a time that the water displaces itself on to the land leading to flooding.
4) Population pressure

Great number of people living in a place causes pressure to be exerted on the limited resources such as the land. The land is over utilised for food and buildings. When this happens, soil erosion occurs increasing the risk of flooding in the land.

FLOOD PREVENTION

They are myriads of ways to prevent floods.
a) The creation of flood plains winding streams are two of the best ways to hinder the accumulation of water by providing a rout for the drainage of water.

b) The wetlands must be protected to help maintain a natural drainages system to provide a place for the excess water to gather. Such devices allow the water to evaporate before it can accumulate, creating flooding conditions.

c) Levees also impede the collecting of water. Levees are embankments composed of soil and earthen material that are used to prevent annual flooding in many areas. With a levee, huge amount of rain water is required before flooding occurs, However, one drawback to their use is that if water is able to get past the levees, then flooding is significantly worse and causes several times more damage hence all the caution to prevent water from getting past it.

d) Another way of preventing floods include placing sandbags along the river bank to serve as levees and placing large rocks on the banks to prevent erosion, which prevent the river banks from deteriorating, remaining high enough so that flooding will not occur as frequently.

e) Buildings must be well planned, proper drainage system constructed, people prevented from building on the water ways in our towns and cities all over our country to reduce the rate flooding.

f) Drainage should be routinely cleared of all waste materials that tend to impede the free flow of water in order to reduce the risk of flooding in our dear nation.

CONCLUSION
Flood presents a significant danger with enough force to sweep away massive objects such as car, trees and other properties. Effort must therefore be made by all and sundry to help control this natural disaster.

Nationwide education must be carried out to give orientation to all on good farming practices, economic use of the land and collective conscience sensitised, towards decongesting all chocked drainage systems in the country.