Where all have we had floods in the last ten days or so? China (China also had a broken dam), Mongolia, Iran, Germany, Belgium, NYC, Arizona, Colorado, Detroit…. What am I missing?

  • congressbaseballfan [she/her]
    hexagon
    ·
    3 years ago

    Fun fact: there is an ongoing drought in northern Colorado, but with a brief reprieve for extreme flooding :)

    • Woly [any]
      ·
      3 years ago

      Ironically, droughts are frequently followed by floods because the ground dries out to the point where it's unable to absorb water properly.

      • machinegobrrrr [none/use name]
        ·
        3 years ago

        ground dries out to the point where it’s unable to absorb water properly

        shouldn't it be opposite. what will happen if a desert gets rain?

        • ConstipationNation [he/him]
          ·
          3 years ago

          Flash floods are really common in the desert, where I'm from people are advised to stay away from rivers and streams any time there's a storm.

        • Woly [any]
          ·
          edit-2
          3 years ago

          Think about a completely dry sponge, shriveled and hard. If you hold it under a faucet, the water will run off the top of it for a few seconds before it starts absorbing water, and it will take quite a while before the sponge is able to soak up as much water as it can if it isn't pre-moistened.

          The same thing happens with soil. Even just one inch of rain not getting absorbed by the ground equals millions and millions of gallons of water flowing over the land, collecting at low points and creating catastrophic floods.

          As far as deserts go, it depends on the local geography, but plenty of them do have severe floods when they experience rain.