Can you predict when rivers will flood? How?

Answer 1

You can scientifically do this effectively. River transport water from a higher collection basis to the sea. Hence the amount of water transported = amount of water collected by rainfall. A good measure of rainfall in the collection basis can predict flooding almost 1-2 days in advance.

Dams do a good job monitoring inflows and at times open the gates when the river is already on a high - they do it to prevent dam from overflows or bursting. In such cases, the flooding in the downstreamareas are caused. and hence well predicted

Answer 2

Yup, each river has a basin that flows into it. If you know the land usage around the river- concrete, soil- the steepness of the terrain, the soil saturation point and what stage it is currently at, and the amount of rain expected in a given amount of time, you can figure out if enough rain will hit the river fast enough to make it flood. This can be done with geomorphology.
Also, rivers have flood histories so you can look at those and guess if the rain you are getting now will cause a flood or not. Was this amount of rain a problem in the past? Seasonally, does this river tend to flood? Is there a well-developed flood plain with splay deposits?

You can't pick a date, but if you know the meteorological information, you could make a pretty good educated guess as to whether current conditions will bring on a flood.

Answer 3

yes. If you (lets say) live in chichester and it was raining lots in midhurst about 13 miles away, Then chichester people will know that the river lavant may flood this means a lot of trouble for the people of chichester as well as the people that live along side the river. or you could predict that if a river is at the bottom of a valley then there is a good chance it may flood if it rains a lot plus all so the environment agency has people doing river watch and they keep an eye the water depth to see if the river or stream may flood.