To what extent are tropical cyclones the main cause of flooding?

[20m]

Planning:

1) Yes they are the main cause of flooding esp fluvial flooding in terms of scale as they
contribute to the higher than normal intensity of rainfall, in terms of space (Am climates), in
terms of time (certain periods of the year)
2) Floods can also be heavily influenced by anthropogenic conditions and activities + pluvial
flooding. However, these human activities typically account for floods at localised scale but
not at the greater scale.
3) Floods occur most frequently as a result of both climatic and human factors.

Flooding usually occurs when a high magnitude of input (natural climatic factors), aided by basin
characteristics (basin size, relief of land, drainage basin capacity) that accelerate discharge of input
into river causes the discharge (often in the form of quick flow processes) to exceed river capacity.
Broadly, floods can occur as short duration, high frequency flash floods or low frequency, low
duration seasonal floods. For seasonal floods, tropic cyclones is a significant factor and it usually in
humid tropics (Am climates) as there will be an abnormally high volume of discharge over a short
period of time, often more than what the river capacity can hold, which then causes flooding as
excessive discharge > drainage capacity. Since seasonal floods are largely due to saturation overland
flow, the impact of cyclones, when compared to other climatic factors, is likely to be more severe as
it directly pressurises the existing drainage system in a short amount of time and as the basin
drainage system will have less time or ability to adapt to the high discharge levels effected by
tropical cyclones. Other factors like excessive rainfall, and rapid snowmelt can contribute to flooding
if it is sustained for a long period of time, and help to account for flooding patterns at the regional
scale. For flash floods at the local scale, especially for arid climates, factors like urbanised land use
and human activities or even natural conditions (like drainage density) play a greater role at
intensifying floods at a particular area and result in the occurrence of flash floods. Ultimately,
flooding is often due to a combination of climatic causes and natural and human flood intensifying
conditions, where upon the more significant causative factor usually differs across space, scale and
time over the magnitude of its influence.

For fluvial floods in humid tropics, a key cause could be attributed to extreme weather events ie
cyclones which result in a higher than average discharge volume. This volume would often result in
floods as discharge would exceed capacity more easily, given the short lag time the drainage basin
has to accommodate the high intensity increase in flooding. Most tropical cyclones form between
the 5 degree and 20 degree latitudes along the western portions of the tropical oceans along South
Atlantic and eastern South Pacific because the waters are too cold and high pressure cells
dominate.(what is this referring to? I thought tropical cyclones need high temp to form?) Tropical
cyclones typically form in the summer and early autumn of tropical North Atlantic and north Pacific
oceans, and typically lasts from June to late November. As such, while cyclones can have a significant
impact on flooding in humid areas, the impact is less on arid areas – though the flash floods in arid
areas may be attributed to other factors. Moreover, since cyclones only occur from June to
December, it only accounts for flooding during the cyclone period, but not during the other periods
where flood can still occur. In other words, the impact of cyclones is largely seasonal, and varies in
different parts of the year and different areas. Besides these, is there any way I can elab further?

However, flooding can also be a result of other climatic factors as a whole, not just cyclones. For
instance, other extreme weather events ie El Nino are often the primary causes that can account for
drier areas that do not experience tropical cyclones, becoming wetter due to the ENSO effect,
though this is limited in terms of space as it can only account for certain areas which experience the
El Nino effect ie Australia, Peru, Pakistan. As a result, it is able to account for the presence of floods
when there is no El Nino. Another factor, rapid snowmelt, accelerated by climate change, can also
cause widespread flooding during spring thaws in late spring or early summer when the sudden
increased temperatures can result in rapid snowmelt. Is there any way I can elab further?

Crucially, the excessive rainfall is another key factor of flooding in the different climatic zones. For
instance, the Af climate experiences high levels of rainfall all year round while Am climate
experiences high rainfall that is largely seasonal, with the bulk experienced during the wet season.
As such, seasonal flooding is more common in Am climates due to the huge dumping of precipitation
in the short wet season. Although this factor has greater influence over space, can affect many
different kinds of climate, compared to tropical cyclones, the discharge is much lesser in volume, and
thus there is a lower likelihood of floods that happen immediately , though it does facilitate the
increased likelihood of floods that may occur in future due to rising discharge levels and is crucial in
providing the conditions necessary for cyclone formation.

Flood intensifying basin characteristics – which do I focus on?

Moreover, over time, with increasing land use due to urbanisation and deforestation, human
activities have significantly altered the drainage basin and made it easier for floods to occur
indirectly, though they are not the direct causes of floods. The increase in such activities can thus
account for the more regular instances of flooding today. For instance, deforestation involves the
removal of forest cover for agriculture, resources etc, which result in increased surface
impermeability and decreased interception and decreased infiltration due to rainsplash effect. In
turn, this can increase the severity of impact of cyclones as there will be less forest cover to absorb
the increased discharge levels, which would then easily culminate in floods. However, as such Commented [LF1]: Surface characteristics (arid tropics as
conditions do not directly contribute to heightened input, they do not cause floods in itself. well)
Therefore, when compared with cyclones, the scale of its impact in terms of immediacy is much
lesser.

However, it does become more significant when we notice its effect in combination with tropical
cyclones. For example, in areas like Bangladesh that experience floods from tropical cyclones and
monsoon rains, a key reason is the flat and low relief (basin factor) and deforestation activities in the Commented [LF2]: Natural
Himalaya slopes that result in large-scale sedimentation of the river channel, so floods occur easily.
In such cases, one can observe that the magnitude and frequency of floods increase when cyclones
occur due to the land characteristics, which are a result of human activities.