The Causes of Floods Floods are second only to fire as the most common of all natural disasters. They occur almost everywhere in the world, resulting in widespread damage and even death. Consequently, scientists have long tried to perfect their ability to predict floods. So far, the best that scientists can do is to recognize the potential for flooding in certain conditions. Melting snow, occurring with heavy rain and sudden warmer weather, creates a large amount of water. If there is a fast snow melt on top of frozen ground, flooding is more likely to occur than when the ground is not frozen. Frozen ground cannot absorb the additional water created by the melting snow. Melting snow also contributes to high water levels in rivers and streams. Whenever rivers are at their full capacity of water, heavy rains will result in the rivers overflowing and flooding the surrounding land. Rivers that are covered in ice can also lead to flooding. When ice begins to melt, the surface of the ice cracks and breaks into large pieces. These pieces of ice move and float down the river. They can form a dam in the river, causing the water behind it to rise and flood the land upstream. If the dam breaks suddenly, the large amount of water held behind the dam can flood the areas downstream too. Answer the following question with a SHORT answer OR a LONG one. What is the most common of all natural disasters? --> _______________________________________________________________ What can floods result in? --> _______________________________________________________________ When does melting snow make a large amount of water? --> _______________________________________________________________ What happens as ice begins to melt? --> _______________________________________________________________ What is “it” in the last paragraph? --> _______________________________________________________________