<p>Flood control measures largely depend on:</p>
<ul>
<li>The amount of money available to create flood control measures</li>
<li>The availability of raw materials that could be used to create such
measures</li>
<li>The locality of the potentially flood affected region</li>
<li>The source of potential flooding  and its relation to the region that
could be flooded.</li>
</ul>
<p>One extreme example is <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bangladesh" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Bangladesh</a>.</p>
<p>Most of Bangladesh is located within the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/River_delta" rel="nofollow noreferrer">delta region</a> of the Ganges and Brahmaputra Rivers; that is where the two rivers meet the ocean.</p>
<p>The region is flat and devoid of easily accessible sources of natural rock. Elsewhere, competent rock, such a basalt, can be located, extracted and crushed to form aggregate  that can be used as a construction material. Because Bangladesh lacks such rock sources it needs to bake clay to create a form of aggregate.</p>
<p>Being positioned at the tail end of two major rivers, the government of Bangladesh does not have control of significant reaches of the rivers to create flood control structures further upstream.</p>
<p>Politically and religiously, flood control measures on either of these rivers could cause a lot Hindus to become very upset.</p>
<p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Bangladesh" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Financially</a>, Bangladesh is a poor country with a population of 162 million people. If it were able to construct flood control devices on the two rivers, it would also need to construct flood prevention devices along its coast as the combination of flood waters from the rivers and high tides from the ocean can exacerbate flooding and its effects on the country.</p>
<p>Finally, rising sea levels from climate change are only going to make matters worse for Bangladesh, because it is a very low lying country.</p>
<hr />
<p>Edit 2 August 2020</p>
<p>Concerning successful flood control measures, two quickly come to mind, the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thames_Barrier" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Thames Barrier</a> in London, England and the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aswan_Dam" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Aswan Dam</a> in Egypt, particularly the Aswan High Dam.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The Thames Barrier is a movable barrier system that is designed to prevent the floodplain of most of Greater London from being flooded by exceptionally high tides and storm surges moving up from the North Sea. It has been operational since 1982. When needed, it is closed (raised) during high tide; at low tide, it can be opened to restore the river's flow towards the sea.</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>Based on the success of the Low Dam, then at its maximum utilization, construction of the High Dam became a key objective of the government following the Egyptian Revolution of 1952; with its ability to better control flooding, provide increased water storage for irrigation and generate hydroelectricity the dam was seen as pivotal to Egypt's planned industrialization. Like the earlier implementation, the High Dam has had a significant effect on the economy and culture of Egypt.</p>
</blockquote>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-08-01T03:46:47.107Z
You do mention that it is a poor country but can you give some context to how much would it really cost them compared to how much they lose each year? excellent answer otherwise btw
FoundABetterName
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-08-01T04:53:33.260Z
Apparently Bangladesh already [spends 20% of its Budget](http://www.sdnbd.org/sdi/issues/floods_drainage/article/flood%20control%20in%20Bangladesh.htm) on water development projects.
Fred
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-08-01T05:24:18.617Z
Oh thanks for the sources
FoundABetterName
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-08-01T17:35:09.357Z
Btw can you share some successful examples of flood control as well?
FoundABetterName
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-08-02T10:57:49.220Z
See edited answer
Fred
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-08-02T13:09:59.520Z
Thanks a lot for all the updates and links
FoundABetterName
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-08-01T03:29:58.587Z
2020-08-02T10:57:13.157Z
2020-08-02T10:57:13.157Z
Fred
<p>Every year I see <a href="https://weather.com/en-IN/india/monsoon/news/2020-07-31-assam-flood-situation-improves-12-lakh-people-remain-distressed" rel="nofollow noreferrer">these</a> sort of news articles where states are flooded particularly due to their geographical location and vicinity to flood prone areas, however year after year there is no improvement in the same. Every year lots of lives are lost, properties destroyed, and people displaces and this made me wonder is there no good plan that such an area can follow?</p>
<p>Is there nothing the Government can do for the remainder of the year so that they can prevent and minimize damage? Are there places like this which have successfully minimized damage over the years?</p>
<p>I believe the loss of life and property is too high and happens every year or so hence investing in solutions must be a good choice still we don't see it happening at a large enough scale to make a difference is it due to unwillingness of the bureaucracy?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-07-31T17:54:01.153Z
there is countless examples on how to avoid flooding in populated areas,the common thing with all of the projects are it costs lots of money.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flood_control
trond hansen
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-07-31T23:59:08.500Z
@trondhansen I've updated the question a bit
FoundABetterName
<rain><natural-disasters><flooding>
How to curb losses during annual heavy rainfalls
FoundABetterName
# How to curb losses during annual heavy rainfalls

(Asked by: username_0 on 2020-07-31)

Every year I see [these](https://weather.com/en-IN/india/monsoon/news/2020-07-31-assam-flood-situation-improves-12-lakh-people-remain-distressed) sort of news articles where states are flooded particularly due to their geographical location and vicinity to flood prone areas, however year after year there is no improvement in the same. Every year lots of lives are lost, properties destroyed, and people displaces and this made me wonder is there no good plan that such an area can follow?

Is there nothing the Government can do for the remainder of the year so that they can prevent and minimize damage? Are there places like this which have successfully minimized damage over the years?

I believe the loss of life and property is too high and happens every year or so hence investing in solutions must be a good choice still we don't see it happening at a large enough scale to make a difference is it due to unwillingness of the bureaucracy?

**Tags:** rain, natural-disasters, flooding

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: there is countless examples on how to avoid flooding in populated areas,the common thing with all of the projects are it costs lots of money.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flood_control  
> **username_0**: @username_1 I've updated the question a bit  

---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2020-08-01. Score: 2 | Accepted answer

Flood control measures largely depend on:

* The amount of money available to create flood control measures
* The availability of raw materials that could be used to create such
  measures
* The locality of the potentially flood affected region
* The source of potential flooding and its relation to the region that
  could be flooded.

One extreme example is [Bangladesh](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bangladesh).

Most of Bangladesh is located within the [delta region](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/River_delta) of the Ganges and Brahmaputra Rivers; that is where the two rivers meet the ocean.

The region is flat and devoid of easily accessible sources of natural rock. Elsewhere, competent rock, such a basalt, can be located, extracted and crushed to form aggregate that can be used as a construction material. Because Bangladesh lacks such rock sources it needs to bake clay to create a form of aggregate.

Being positioned at the tail end of two major rivers, the government of Bangladesh does not have control of significant reaches of the rivers to create flood control structures further upstream.

Politically and religiously, flood control measures on either of these rivers could cause a lot Hindus to become very upset.

[Financially](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Bangladesh), Bangladesh is a poor country with a population of 162 million people. If it were able to construct flood control devices on the two rivers, it would also need to construct flood prevention devices along its coast as the combination of flood waters from the rivers and high tides from the ocean can exacerbate flooding and its effects on the country.

Finally, rising sea levels from climate change are only going to make matters worse for Bangladesh, because it is a very low lying country.

---

Edit 2 August 2020

Concerning successful flood control measures, two quickly come to mind, the [Thames Barrier](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thames_Barrier) in London, England and the [Aswan Dam](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aswan_Dam) in Egypt, particularly the Aswan High Dam.

> The Thames Barrier is a movable barrier system that is designed to prevent the floodplain of most of Greater London from being flooded by exceptionally high tides and storm surges moving up from the North Sea. It has been operational since 1982. When needed, it is closed (raised) during high tide; at low tide, it can be opened to restore the river's flow towards the sea.

> Based on the success of the Low Dam, then at its maximum utilization, construction of the High Dam became a key objective of the government following the Egyptian Revolution of 1952; with its ability to better control flooding, provide increased water storage for irrigation and generate hydroelectricity the dam was seen as pivotal to Egypt's planned industrialization. Like the earlier implementation, the High Dam has had a significant effect on the economy and culture of Egypt.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: You do mention that it is a poor country but can you give some context to how much would it really cost them compared to how much they lose each year? excellent answer otherwise btw  
> **username_2**: Apparently Bangladesh already [spends 20% of its Budget](http://www.sdnbd.org/sdi/issues/floods_drainage/article/flood%20control%20in%20Bangladesh.htm) on water development projects.  
> **username_0**: Oh thanks for the sources  
> **username_0**: Btw can you share some successful examples of flood control as well?  
> **username_2**: See edited answer  
> **username_0**: Thanks a lot for all the updates and links  

---

