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84-628: Created in 1998, the park has a total area of 34,000 hectares (84,000 acres), it comprises Superagüi Island, Peças Island, Pinheiro and Pinheirinho Islands, along with the Rio dos Patos Valley and the Varadouro Channel, which separates the island from the mainland. Superagüi National Park was declared a Biosphere Reservation by UNESCO in 1991. In 1999, the park was declared a World Heritage Site . The park has bays, deserted beaches, sandbanks, estuaries, mangroves and abundant Atlantic Forest formations. The park

168-449: A dam , landslide, or glacier . In one instance, a flash flood killed eight people enjoying the water on a Sunday afternoon at a popular waterfall in a narrow canyon. Without any observed rainfall, the flow rate increased from about 50 to 1,500 cubic feet per second (1.4 to 42 m /s) in just one minute. Two larger floods occurred at the same site within a week, but no one was at the waterfall on those days. The deadly flood resulted from

252-646: A flash flood . Flash floods usually result from intense rainfall over a relatively small area, or if the area was already saturated from previous precipitation. The amount, location, and timing of water reaching a drainage channel from natural precipitation and controlled or uncontrolled reservoir releases determines the flow at downstream locations. Some precipitation evaporates, some slowly percolates through soil, some may be temporarily sequestered as snow or ice, and some may produce rapid runoff from surfaces including rock, pavement, roofs, and saturated or frozen ground. The fraction of incident precipitation promptly reaching

336-515: A landslide , earthquake or volcanic eruption . Examples include outburst floods and lahars . Tsunamis can cause catastrophic coastal flooding , most commonly resulting from undersea earthquakes. The primary effects of flooding include loss of life and damage to buildings and other structures, including bridges, sewerage systems, roadways, and canals. The economic impacts caused by flooding can be severe. Every year flooding causes countries billions of dollars worth of damage that threatens

420-484: A tropical cyclone or an extratropical cyclone , falls within this category. A storm surge is "an additional rise of water generated by a storm, over and above the predicted astronomical tides". Due to the effects of climate change (e.g. sea level rise and an increase in extreme weather events) and an increase in the population living in coastal areas, the damage caused by coastal flood events has intensified and more people are being affected. Flooding in estuaries

504-417: A UNESCO report titled "World Heritage and Tourism in a Changing Climate". The Australian government's actions, involving considerable expense for lobbying and visits for diplomats , were in response to their concern about the negative impact that an "at risk" label could have on tourism revenue at a previously designated UNESCO World Heritage Site. In 2021, international scientists recommended UNESCO to put

588-461: A country can be lost in extreme flood circumstances. Some tree species may not survive prolonged flooding of their root systems. Flooding in areas where people live also has significant economic implications for affected neighborhoods. In the United States , industry experts estimate that wet basements can lower property values by 10–25 percent and are cited among the top reasons for not purchasing

672-538: A drainage channel has been observed from nil for light rain on dry, level ground to as high as 170 percent for warm rain on accumulated snow. Most precipitation records are based on a measured depth of water received within a fixed time interval. Frequency of a precipitation threshold of interest may be determined from the number of measurements exceeding that threshold value within the total time period for which observations are available. Individual data points are converted to intensity by dividing each measured depth by

756-627: A few minutes for roof and parking lot drainage structures, while cumulative rainfall over several days would be critical for river basins. Water flowing downhill ultimately encounters downstream conditions slowing movement. The final limitation in coastal flooding lands is often the ocean or some coastal flooding bars which form natural lakes . In flooding low lands, elevation changes such as tidal fluctuations are significant determinants of coastal and estuarine flooding. Less predictable events like tsunamis and storm surges may also cause elevation changes in large bodies of water. Elevation of flowing water

840-605: A few. Gastrointestinal disease and diarrheal diseases are very common due to a lack of clean water during a flood. Most of clean water supplies are contaminated when flooding occurs. Hepatitis A and E are common because of the lack of sanitation in the water and in living quarters depending on where the flood is and how prepared the community is for a flood. When floods hit, people lose nearly all their crops, livestock, and food reserves and face starvation. Floods also frequently damage power transmission and sometimes power generation , which then has knock-on effects caused by

924-721: A home. According to the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), almost 40 percent of small businesses never reopen their doors following a flooding disaster. In the United States, insurance is available against flood damage to both homes and businesses. Economic hardship due to a temporary decline in tourism, rebuilding costs, or food shortages leading to price increases is a common after-effect of severe flooding. The impact on those affected may cause psychological damage to those affected, in particular where deaths, serious injuries and loss of property occur. Fatalities connected directly to floods are usually caused by drowning ;

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1008-483: A minor boundary change, one that does not have a significant impact on the extent of the property or affect its "outstanding universal value", is also evaluated by the advisory bodies before being sent to the committee. Such proposals can be rejected by either the advisory bodies or the Committee if they judge it to be a significant change instead of a minor one. Proposals to change a site's official name are sent directly to

1092-486: A more distant point controls at higher water levels. Effective flood channel geometry may be changed by growth of vegetation, accumulation of ice or debris, or construction of bridges, buildings, or levees within the flood channel. Periodic floods occur on many rivers, forming a surrounding region known as the flood plain . Even when rainfall is relatively light, the shorelines of lakes and bays can be flooded by severe winds—such as during hurricanes —that blow water into

1176-756: A remarkable accomplishment of humankind and serve as evidence of our intellectual history on the planet, or it might be a place of great natural beauty. As of July 2024, a total of 1,223 World Heritage Sites (952 cultural, 231 natural and 40 mixed cultural and natural properties) exist across 168 countries . With 60 selected areas, Italy is the country with the most sites, followed by China with 59, and Germany with 54. The sites are intended for practical conservation for posterity, which otherwise would be subject to risk from human or animal trespassing, unmonitored, uncontrolled or unrestricted access, or threat from local administrative negligence. Sites are demarcated by UNESCO as protected zones. The World Heritage Sites list

1260-955: A single text was eventually agreed upon by all parties, and the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage was adopted by the General Conference of UNESCO on 16 November 1972. The convention came into force on 17 December 1975. As of November 2024, it has been ratified by 196 states: 192 UN member states , two UN observer states (the Holy See and the State of Palestine ), and two states in free association with New Zealand (the Cook Islands and Niue ). Only one UN member state, Liechtenstein , has not ratified

1344-413: A thunderstorm over part of the drainage basin, where steep, bare rock slopes are common and the thin soil was already saturated. Flash floods are the most common flood type in normally-dry channels in arid zones, known as arroyos in the southwest United States and many other names elsewhere. In that setting, the first flood water to arrive is depleted as it wets the sandy stream bed. The leading edge of

1428-520: A type of hybrid river/areal flooding can occur, known locally as "overland flooding". This is different from "overland flow" defined as "surface runoff". The Red River Valley is a former glacial lakebed, created by Lake Agassiz , and over a length of 550 mi (890 km), the river course drops only 236 ft (72 m), for an average slope of about 5 inches per mile (or 8.2 cm per kilometer). In this very large area, spring snowmelt happens at different rates in different places, and if winter snowfall

1512-405: Is also the intentional flooding of land that would otherwise remain dry. This may take place for agricultural, military, or river-management purposes. For example, agricultural flooding may occur in preparing paddy fields for the growing of semi-aquatic rice in many countries. Flooding may occur as an overflow of water from water bodies, such as a river , lake , sea or ocean. In these cases,

1596-419: Is common when heavy flows move uprooted woody vegetation and flood-damaged structures and vehicles, including boats and railway equipment. Recent field measurements during the 2010–11 Queensland floods showed that any criterion solely based upon the flow velocity, water depth or specific momentum cannot account for the hazards caused by velocity and water depth fluctuations. These considerations ignore further

1680-493: Is commonly caused by a combination of storm surges caused by winds and low barometric pressure and large waves meeting high upstream river flows. The intentional flooding of land that would otherwise remain dry may take place for agricultural, military or river-management purposes. This is a form of hydraulic engineering . Agricultural flooding may occur in preparing paddy fields for the growing of semi-aquatic rice in many countries. Flooding for river management may occur in

1764-400: Is controlled by the geometry of the flow channel and, especially, by depth of channel, speed of flow and amount of sediments in it Flow channel restrictions like bridges and canyons tend to control water elevation above the restriction. The actual control point for any given reach of the drainage may change with changing water elevation, so a closer point may control for lower water levels until

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1848-559: Is maintained by the international World Heritage Program administered by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee , composed of 21 "states parties" that are elected by the United Nations General Assembly , and advised by reviews of international panels of experts in natural or cultural history, and education. The Program catalogues, names, and conserves sites of outstanding cultural or natural importance to

1932-461: Is more significant to flooding within small drainage basins. The most important upslope factor in determining flood magnitude is the land area of the watershed upstream of the area of interest. Rainfall intensity is the second most important factor for watersheds of less than approximately 30 square miles or 80 square kilometres. The main channel slope is the second most important factor for larger watersheds. Channel slope and rainfall intensity become

2016-606: Is the primary habitat of the critically endangered Superagui Lion Tamarin , and hosts many other fauna and flora characteristic of the Serra do Mar subregion of the Atlantic Forest . The conservation unit is part of the Lagamar Mosaic . Evidence indicates that the area has been occupied by fishermen since time immemorial. Prior to the arrival of Europeans it was inhabited by Carijós and Tupiniquins Indians. The Portuguese settled in

2100-583: Is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide . Floods are of significant concern in agriculture , civil engineering and public health . Human changes to the environment often increase the intensity and frequency of flooding. Examples for human changes are land use changes such as deforestation and removal of wetlands , changes in waterway course or flood controls such as with levees . Global environmental issues also influence causes of floods, namely climate change which causes an intensification of

2184-554: The Second World War ). Floods are caused by many factors or a combination of any of these generally prolonged heavy rainfall (locally concentrated or throughout a catchment area), highly accelerated snowmelt , severe winds over water, unusual high tides, tsunamis , or failure of dams, levees , retention ponds , or other structures that retained the water. Flooding can be exacerbated by increased amounts of impervious surface or by other natural hazards such as wildfires, which reduce

2268-751: The United Nations Conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm. Under the World Heritage Committee, signatory countries are required to produce and submit periodic data reporting providing the committee with an overview of each participating nation's implementation of the World Heritage Convention and a "snapshot" of current conditions at World Heritage properties. Based on the draft convention that UNESCO had initiated,

2352-562: The water table is shallow, such as a floodplain , or from intense rain from one or a series of storms . Infiltration also is slow to negligible through frozen ground, rock, concrete , paving, or roofs. Areal flooding begins in flat areas like floodplains and in local depressions not connected to a stream channel, because the velocity of overland flow depends on the surface slope. Endorheic basins may experience areal flooding during periods when precipitation exceeds evaporation. Floods occur in all types of river and stream channels, from

2436-679: The Great Barrier Reef on the endangered list, as global climate change had caused a further negative state of the corals and water quality. Again, the Australian government campaigned against this, and in July 2021, the World Heritage Committee , made up of diplomatic representatives of 21 countries, ignored UNESCO's assessment, based on studies of scientists, "that the reef was clearly in danger from climate change and so should be placed on

2520-968: The List of World Heritage in Danger and the World Heritage List. Only three sites have ever been delisted : the Arabian Oryx Sanctuary in Oman, the Dresden Elbe Valley in Germany, and the Liverpool Maritime Mercantile City in the United Kingdom. The Arabian Oryx Sanctuary was directly delisted in 2007, instead of first being put on the danger list, after the Omani government decided to reduce

2604-585: The South Atlantic, is part of the Europe and North America region because the British government nominated the site. The table below includes a breakdown of the sites according to these regions and their classification as of July 2024 : This overview lists the 23 countries with 15 or more World Heritage Sites: Flood A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids ) that submerges land that

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2688-609: The World Heritage Committee for new designations. The Committee meets once a year to determine which nominated properties to add to the World Heritage List; sometimes it defers its decision or requests more information from the country that nominated the site. There are ten selection criteria – a site must meet at least one to be included on the list. Until 2004, there were six sets of criteria for cultural heritage and four for natural heritage. In 2005, UNESCO modified these and now has one set of ten criteria. Nominated sites must be of "outstanding universal value" and must meet at least one of

2772-944: The World Heritage Fund to facilitate its conservation under certain conditions. UNESCO reckons the restorations of the following four sites among its success stories: Angkor in Cambodia, the Old City of Dubrovnik in Croatia, the Wieliczka Salt Mine near Kraków in Poland, and the Ngorongoro Conservation Area in Tanzania. Additionally, the local population around a site may benefit from significantly increased tourism revenue. When there are significant interactions between people and

2856-687: The adverse ecological impact of the inundation. That impact may also be adverse in a hydrogeological sense if the inundation lasts a long time. Examples for uncontrolled inundations are the second Siege of Leiden during the first part of the Eighty Years' War , the flooding of the Yser plain during the First World War , and the Inundation of Walcheren , and the Inundation of the Wieringermeer during

2940-423: The amount of water damage and mold that grows after an incident. Research suggests that there will be an increase of 30–50% in adverse respiratory health outcomes caused by dampness and mold exposure for those living in coastal and wetland areas. Fungal contamination in homes is associated with increased allergic rhinitis and asthma. Vector borne diseases increase as well due to the increase in still water after

3024-792: The area from 1500 on , did not build cities. In 1852, the Swiss consul in Rio de Janeiro, Perret Gentil, founded Supeargüi Island, one of the first European colonies in the state of Paraná, however, the colony didn't grow, and today the few villages that are within the park have only a few inhabitants, fishermen heirs of the 15 families brought by the consul to live in Superagui Island. World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural heritage around

3108-486: The awards, because World Heritage listing can significantly increase tourism returns. Site listing bids are often lengthy and costly, putting poorer countries at a disadvantage. Eritrea 's efforts to promote Asmara are one example. In 2016, the Australian government was reported to have successfully lobbied for the World Heritage Site Great Barrier Reef conservation efforts to be removed from

3192-504: The commitment of countries and local population to World Heritage conservation in various ways, providing emergency assistance for sites in danger, offering technical assistance and professional training, and supporting States Parties' public awareness-building activities. Being listed as a World Heritage Site can positively affect the site, its environment, and interactions between them. A listed site gains international recognition and legal protection, and can obtain funds from, among others,

3276-450: The committee. A site may be added to the List of World Heritage in Danger if conditions threaten the characteristics for which the landmark or area was inscribed on the World Heritage List. Such problems may involve armed conflict and war, natural disasters, pollution, poaching, or uncontrolled urbanisation or human development. This danger list is intended to increase international awareness of

3360-417: The common culture and heritage of humankind. The programme began with the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage , which was adopted by the General Conference of UNESCO on 16 November 1972. Since then, 196 states have ratified the convention, making it one of the most widely recognised international agreements and the world's most popular cultural programme. In 1954,

3444-412: The convention. By assigning places as World Heritage Sites, UNESCO wants to help preserve them for future generations. Its motivation is that "heritage is our legacy from the past, what we live with today" and that both cultural and natural heritage are "irreplaceable sources of life and inspiration". UNESCO's mission with respect to World Heritage consists of eight sub targets. These include encouraging

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3528-434: The deadliest floods worldwide, showing events with death tolls at or above 100,000 individuals. Floods (in particular more frequent or smaller floods) can also bring many benefits, such as recharging ground water , making soil more fertile and increasing nutrients in some soils. Flood waters provide much needed water resources in arid and semi-arid regions where precipitation can be very unevenly distributed throughout

3612-627: The endangered monuments and sites. In 1960, the Director-General of UNESCO launched the International Campaign to Save the Monuments of Nubia . This resulted in the excavation and recording of hundreds of sites, the recovery of thousands of objects, as well as the salvage and relocation to higher ground of several important temples. The most famous of these are the temple complexes of Abu Simbel and Philae . The campaign ended in 1980 and

3696-563: The field that is intended to impede the movement of the enemy. This may be done both for offensive and defensive purposes. Furthermore, in so far as the methods used are a form of hydraulic engineering, it may be useful to differentiate between controlled inundations and uncontrolled ones. Examples for controlled inundations include those in the Netherlands under the Dutch Republic and its successor states in that area and exemplified in

3780-470: The flood process; before, during and after. During floods accidents occur with falling debris or any of the many fast moving objects in the water. After the flood rescue attempts are where large numbers injuries can occur. Communicable diseases are increased due to many pathogens and bacteria that are being transported by the water .There are many waterborne diseases such as cholera , hepatitis A , hepatitis E and diarrheal diseases , to mention

3864-492: The flood thus advances more slowly than later and higher flows. As a result, the rising limb of the hydrograph becomes ever quicker as the flood moves downstream, until the flow rate is so great that the depletion by wetting soil becomes insignificant. Coastal areas may be flooded by storm surges combining with high tides and large wave events at sea, resulting in waves over-topping flood defenses or in severe cases by tsunami or tropical cyclones. A storm surge , from either

3948-403: The floods have settled. The diseases that are vector borne are malaria , dengue , West Nile , and yellow fever . Floods have a huge impact on victims' psychosocial integrity . People suffer from a wide variety of losses and stress . One of the most treated illness in long-term health problems are depression caused by the flood and all the tragedy that flows with one. Below is a list of

4032-428: The flow rate exceeds the capacity of the river channel , particularly at bends or meanders in the waterway . Floods often cause damage to homes and businesses if these buildings are in the natural flood plains of rivers. People could avoid riverine flood damage by moving away from rivers. However, people in many countries have traditionally lived and worked by rivers because the land is usually flat and fertile . Also,

4116-641: The form of diverting flood waters in a river at flood stage upstream from areas that are considered more valuable than the areas that are sacrificed in this way. This may be done ad hoc , or permanently, as in the so-called overlaten (literally "let-overs"), an intentionally lowered segment in Dutch riparian levees, like the Beerse Overlaat in the left levee of the Meuse between the villages of Gassel and Linden, North Brabant . Military inundation creates an obstacle in

4200-523: The government of Egypt decided to build the new Aswan High Dam , whose resulting future reservoir would eventually inundate a large stretch of the Nile valley containing cultural treasures of ancient Egypt and ancient Nubia . In 1959, the governments of Egypt and Sudan requested the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to assist them to protect and rescue

4284-403: The land in quantities that cannot be carried within stream channels or retained in natural ponds, lakes, and human-made reservoirs . About 30 percent of all precipitation becomes runoff and that amount might be increased by water from melting snow. River flooding is often caused by heavy rain, sometimes increased by melting snow. A flood that rises rapidly, with little or no warning, is called

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4368-980: The last two decades. These activities endanger Natural World Heritage Sites and could compromise their unique values. Of the Natural World Heritage Sites that contain forest, 91% experienced some loss since 2000. Many of them are more threatened than previously thought and require immediate conservation action. The destruction of cultural assets and identity-establishing sites is one of the primary goals of modern asymmetrical warfare. Terrorists, rebels, and mercenary armies deliberately smash archaeological sites, sacred and secular monuments and loot libraries, archives and museums. The UN, United Nations peacekeeping and UNESCO in cooperation with Blue Shield International are active in preventing such acts. "No strike lists" are also created to protect cultural assets from air strikes. The founding president of Blue Shield International Karl von Habsburg summed it up with

4452-508: The list." According to environmental protection groups, this "decision was a victory for cynical lobbying and [...] Australia, as custodians of the world's biggest coral reef, was now on probation." Several listed locations, such as Casco Viejo in Panama and Hội An in Vietnam , have struggled to strike a balance between the economic benefits of catering to greatly increased visitor numbers after

4536-608: The livelihood of individuals. As a result, there is also significant socio-economic threats to vulnerable populations around the world from flooding. For example, in Bangladesh in 2007, a flood was responsible for the destruction of more than one million houses. And yearly in the United States, floods cause over $ 7 billion in damage. Flood waters typically inundate farm land, making the land unworkable and preventing crops from being planted or harvested, which can lead to shortages of food both for humans and farm animals. Entire harvests for

4620-825: The local level which can result in the site being damaged. Rock art under world heritage protection at the Tadrart Acacus in Libya have occasionally been intentionally destroyed. Chalcraft links this destruction to Libyan national authorities prioritizing World Heritage status over local sensibilities by limiting access to the sites without consulting with the local population. UNESCO has also been criticized for alleged geographic bias, racism , and colourism in world heritage inscription. A major chunk of all world heritage inscriptions are located in regions whose populations generally have lighter skin, including Europe, East Asia, and North America. The World Heritage Committee has divided

4704-417: The location of the flood. Damage to roads and transport infrastructure may make it difficult to mobilize aid to those affected or to provide emergency health treatment. Flooding can cause chronically wet houses, leading to the growth of indoor mold and resulting in adverse health effects, particularly respiratory symptoms. Respiratory diseases are a common after the disaster has occurred. This depends on

4788-436: The loss of power. This includes loss of drinking water treatment and water supply, which may result in loss of drinking water or severe water contamination. It may also cause the loss of sewage disposal facilities. Lack of clean water combined with human sewage in the flood waters raises the risk of waterborne diseases , which can include typhoid , giardia , cryptosporidium , cholera and many other diseases depending upon

4872-704: The natural environment, these can be recognised as "cultural landscapes". A country must first identify its significant cultural and natural sites in a document known as the Tentative List. Next, it can place sites selected from that list into a Nomination File, which is evaluated by the International Council on Monuments and Sites and the World Conservation Union . A country may not nominate sites that have not been first included on its Tentative List. The two international bodies make recommendations to

4956-457: The period of time between observations. This intensity will be less than the actual peak intensity if the duration of the rainfall event was less than the fixed time interval for which measurements are reported. Convective precipitation events (thunderstorms) tend to produce shorter duration storm events than orographic precipitation. Duration, intensity, and frequency of rainfall events are important to flood prediction. Short duration precipitation

5040-543: The protected area's size by 90%. The Dresden Elbe Valley was first placed on the danger list in 2006 when the World Heritage Committee decided that plans to construct the Waldschlösschen Bridge would significantly alter the valley's landscape. In response, the Dresden City Council attempted to stop the bridge's construction. However, after several court decisions allowed the building of the bridge to proceed,

5124-467: The recognition and preserving the original culture and local communities. Another criticism is that there is a homogeneity to these sites, which contain similar styles, visitor centres , etc., meaning that a lot of the individuality of these sites has been removed to become more attractive to tourists. Anthropologist Jasper Chalcraft said that World Heritage recognition often ignores contemporary local usage of certain sites. This leads to conflicts on

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5208-569: The result of sustained rainfall, rapid snow melt, monsoons , or tropical cyclones . However, large rivers may have rapid flooding events in areas with dry climates, since they may have large basins but small river channels, and rainfall can be very intense in smaller areas of those basins. In extremely flat areas, such as the Red River Valley of the North in Minnesota , North Dakota , and Manitoba ,

5292-480: The risks associated with large debris entrained by the flow motion. Floods can be a huge destructive power. When water flows, it has the ability to demolish all kinds of buildings and objects, such as bridges, structures, houses, trees, and cars. Economical, social and natural environmental damages are common factors that are impacted by flooding events and the impacts that flooding has on these areas can be catastrophic. There have been numerous flood incidents around

5376-454: The rivers provide easy travel and access to commerce and industry. Flooding can damage property and also lead to secondary impacts. These include in the short term an increased spread of waterborne diseases and vector-bourne disesases , for example those diseases transmitted by mosquitos. Flooding can also lead to long-term displacement of residents. Floods are an area of study of hydrology and hydraulic engineering . A large amount of

5460-497: The shore areas. Extreme flood events often result from coincidence such as unusually intense, warm rainfall melting heavy snow pack, producing channel obstructions from floating ice, and releasing small impoundments like beaver dams. Coincident events may cause extensive flooding to be more frequent than anticipated from simplistic statistical prediction models considering only precipitation runoff flowing within unobstructed drainage channels. Debris modification of channel geometry

5544-538: The smallest ephemeral streams in humid zones to normally-dry channels in arid climates to the world's largest rivers. When overland flow occurs on tilled fields, it can result in a muddy flood where sediments are picked up by run off and carried as suspended matter or bed load . Localized flooding may be caused or exacerbated by drainage obstructions such as landslides , ice , debris , or beaver dams. Slow-rising floods most commonly occur in large rivers with large catchment areas . The increase in flow may be

5628-527: The supply of vegetation that can absorb rainfall. During times of rain, some of the water is retained in ponds or soil, some is absorbed by grass and vegetation, some evaporates, and the rest travels over the land as surface runoff . Floods occur when ponds, lakes, riverbeds, soil, and vegetation cannot absorb all the water. This has been exacerbated by human activities such as draining wetlands that naturally store large amounts of water and building paved surfaces that do not absorb any water. Water then runs off

5712-474: The ten criteria. A country may request to extend or reduce the boundaries, modify the official name, or change the selection criteria of one of its already listed sites. Any proposal for a significant boundary change or to modify the site's selection criteria must be submitted as if it were a new nomination, including first placing it on the Tentative List and then onto the Nomination File. A request for

5796-440: The third most important factors for small and large watersheds, respectively. Time of Concentration is the time required for runoff from the most distant point of the upstream drainage area to reach the point of the drainage channel controlling flooding of the area of interest. The time of concentration defines the critical duration of peak rainfall for the area of interest. The critical duration of intense rainfall might be only

5880-405: The threats and to encourage counteractive measures. Threats to a site can be either proven imminent threats or potential dangers that could have adverse effects on a site. The state of conservation for each site on the danger list is reviewed yearly; after this, the Committee may request additional measures, delete the property from the list if the threats have ceased or consider deletion from both

5964-669: The two Hollandic Water Lines , the Stelling van Amsterdam , the Frisian Water Line , the IJssel Line , the Peel-Raam Line , and the Grebbe line in that country. To count as controlled , a military inundation has to take the interests of the civilian population into account, by allowing them a timely evacuation , by making the inundation reversible , and by making an attempt to minimize

6048-615: The valley was removed from the World Heritage List in 2009. Liverpool 's World Heritage status was revoked in July 2021, following developments ( Liverpool Waters and Bramley-Moore Dock Stadium ) on the northern docks of the World Heritage site leading to the "irreversible loss of attributes" on the site. The first global assessment to quantitatively measure threats to Natural World Heritage Sites found that 63% of sites have been damaged by increasing human pressures including encroaching roads, agriculture infrastructure and settlements over

6132-441: The water cycle and sea level rise . For example, climate change makes extreme weather events more frequent and stronger. This leads to more intense floods and increased flood risk. Natural types of floods include river flooding, groundwater flooding coastal flooding and urban flooding sometimes known as flash flooding. Tidal flooding may include elements of both river and coastal flooding processes in estuary areas. There

6216-487: The water overtops or breaks levees , resulting in some of that water escaping its usual boundaries. Flooding may also occur due to an accumulation of rainwater on saturated ground. This is called an areal flood . The size of a lake or other body of water naturally varies with seasonal changes in precipitation and snow melt. Those changes in size are however not considered a flood unless they flood property or drown domestic animals . Floods can also occur in rivers when

6300-515: The waters in a flood are very deep and have strong currents . Deaths do not just occur from drowning, deaths are connected with dehydration , heat stroke , heart attack and any other illness that needs medical supplies that cannot be delivered. Injuries can lead to an excessive amount of morbidity when a flood occurs. Injuries are not isolated to just those who were directly in the flood, rescue teams and even people delivering supplies can sustain an injury. Injuries can occur anytime during

6384-436: The words: "Without the local community and without the local participants, that would be completely impossible". The UNESCO-administered project has attracted criticism. This was caused by perceived under-representation of heritage sites outside Europe, disputed decisions on site selection and adverse impact of mass tourism on sites unable to manage rapid growth in visitor numbers. A large lobbying industry has grown around

6468-526: The work of the World Heritage Committee was developed over a seven-year period (1965–1972). The United States initiated the idea of safeguarding places of high cultural or natural importance. A White House conference in 1965 called for a "World Heritage Trust" to preserve "the world's superb natural and scenic areas and historic sites for the present and the future of the entire world citizenry". The International Union for Conservation of Nature developed similar proposals in 1968, which were presented in 1972 at

6552-648: The world considered to be of outstanding value to humanity". To be selected, a World Heritage Site is nominated by its host country and determined by the UNESCO's World Heritage Committee to be a unique landmark which is geographically and historically identifiable, having a special cultural or physical significance, and to be under a sufficient system of legal protection. For example, World Heritage Sites might be ancient ruins or historical structures, buildings, cities, deserts, forests, islands, lakes, monuments, mountains or wilderness areas. A World Heritage Site may signify

6636-717: The world into five geographic regions: Africa, Arab states, Asia and the Pacific, Europe and North America, and Latin America and the Caribbean. Russia and the Caucasus states are classified as European, while Mexico and the Caribbean are classified as belonging to the Latin America and the Caribbean region. The UNESCO geographic regions also give greater emphasis on administrative, rather than geographic associations. Hence, Gough Island , located in

6720-450: The world which have caused devastating damage to infrastructure, the natural environment and human life. Floods can have devastating impacts to human societies. Flooding events worldwide are increasing in frequency and severity, leading to increasing costs to societies. Catastrophic riverine flooding can result from major infrastructure failures, often the collapse of a dam . It can also be caused by drainage channel modification from

6804-557: The world's population lives in close proximity to major coastlines , while many major cities and agricultural areas are located near floodplains . There is significant risk for increased coastal and fluvial flooding due to changing climatic conditions. Floods can happen on flat or low-lying areas when water is supplied by rainfall or snowmelt more rapidly than it can either infiltrate or run off . The excess accumulates in place, sometimes to hazardous depths. Surface soil can become saturated, which effectively stops infiltration, where

6888-668: Was collected from 50 countries. The project's success led to other safeguarding campaigns, such as saving Venice and its lagoon in Italy, the ruins of Mohenjo-daro in Pakistan, and the Borobodur Temple Compounds in Indonesia. Together with the International Council on Monuments and Sites , UNESCO then initiated a draft convention to protect cultural heritage. The convention (the signed document of international agreement ) guiding

6972-931: Was considered a success. To thank countries which especially contributed to the campaign's success, Egypt donated four temples; the Temple of Dendur was moved to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City , the Temple of Debod to the Parque del Oeste in Madrid , the Temple of Taffeh to the Rijksmuseum van Oudheden in Leiden , and the Temple of Ellesyia to Museo Egizio in Turin . The project cost US$ 80 million (equivalent to $ 295.83 million in 2023), about $ 40 million of which

7056-765: Was heavy, a fast snowmelt can push water out of the banks of a tributary river so that it moves overland, to a point further downstream in the river or completely to another streambed. Overland flooding can be devastating because it is unpredictable, it can occur very suddenly with surprising speed, and in such flat land it can run for miles. It is these qualities that set it apart from simple "overland flow". Rapid flooding events, including flash floods , more often occur on smaller rivers, rivers with steep valleys, rivers that flow for much of their length over impermeable terrain, or normally-dry channels. The cause may be localized convective precipitation (intense thunderstorms ) or sudden release from an upstream impoundment created behind

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