Flood Damage Reduction Actions

Floods are function of water moving over a surface. A combination of water from precipitation or melting flows over the land or infiltrates into the soil and may be slowed by obstacles. Since how much water falls from the sky or melts is beyond local control, the only way people can alter the flood itself is by changing the landscape. We can also change what the flood damages by altering the property that is in the flood’s path, or by issuing warnings and taking precautionary actions to protect or move people or property.

The two approaches below can be boiled down to the following: