During heavy or prolonged rain, streams and rivers can become raging torrents which can burst their banks to submerge the land around them. Floods are among the most common and devastating natural disasters, occurring when natural and artificial drainage systems can’t cope with a large quantity of water. Community impacts can include loss of life, injury and social disruption and economic impacts from effects from damage to property and infrastructure, damage to road and rail networks, loss of stock, and contamination of water and land - the bigger the flood, the greater the probability and severity of these impacts.


