Q.1
One way of reducing the flood risk is to recreate peat bogs in the upland areas of drainage basins. How do these peat bogs help reduce the risk of flooding?
  • Peat bogs allow the water to pass an area quicker
  • Peat bogs direct the water into ground water supplies rather than allowing it to pass across the surface
  • Peat bogs act like a sponge, retaining water and releasing it slowly
  • Peat bogs increase evaporation because of the large number of trees found in these ecosystems
Q.2
The Three Gorges Dam in China has proven to be a positive in terms of flood risk reduction, but which of the following is one of the negatives of the construction of large-scale dams such as this one?
  • Some species of fish and other aquatic animals may be driven to extinction
  • Millions of people have to be displaced from their homes to make way for the reservoir
  • The silt and pollution carried by rivers is deposited behind the dam, gradually filling up the reservoir
  • The discharge rates down river will be altered
Q.3
What is a washland?
  • An area that is deliberately flooded during times of heavy river flow to avoid flooding elsewhere
  • A area that is dredged out to allow faster flow to avoid a flood risk
  • An area near a river that is protected to prevent flooding as this can risk the bank stability
  • An area of the riverbed, normally downstream of a straightened section, that is scoured out by high velocity flow
Q.4
Which of the following is an example of hard engineering to help prevent flood damage?
  • Planting trees in upland areas
  • Allowing a river to naturally flood into dedicated areas
  • Straightening a river channel
  • A planning restriction placed on an area of high flood risk
Q.5
Beavers are being reintroduced to the British countryside. How are they helping to manage flood risks?
  • Beaver tunnels undermine banks and allow them to collapse, creating a wider and shallower river that is hard for the water to escape from
  • Beavers destroy trees which stabilize river banks and so reduce flooding
  • Beavers encourage tourism that brings more money into the local economy that can be spent on flood defenses
  • Beavers create dams that trap water upstream, allowing it to flood undeveloped higher land
Q.6
For hundreds of years sheep farmers have been managing the uplands of Britain. How does their management increase the risk of flooding?
  • Sheep eat the grass, destroying the plants and reducing the water uptake
  • There is an increased drainage of marshland to make it suitable for grazing
  • The machinery needed to take care of the sheep destroys the soil structure
  • Sheep increase erosion as they move across the landscape
Q.7
Which of the following are systems that might be in place in Flood Plain Zoning?
  • Grazing areas zoned on higher ground
  • Roads and parking lots situated closer to the river than factories
  • Industry located directly on the river banks
  • Critical infrastructure (e.g. hospitals) closer to the river than residential properties
Q.8
In the 18th and 19th Centuries people began straightening sections of the Mississippi to aid navigation. How does straightening channels impact on the flood risk?
  • The water builds up as it enters the straightened cut, increasing the risk upriver and decreasing the risk down river of the cut
  • The water passes through the straightened sections faster, decreasing the risk upriver, but increasing the risk down-river of the cut section
  • The water passes into the cut faster, leading to flooding either side of the cut
  • Straightening the cut has no measurable effect on the flood risk, although it makes it much safer to navigate
Q.9
Which of the following is an example of flood proofing for buildings?
  • Flood barriers for doorways
  • Raised electrical sockets
  • Increased ventilation via ground level air bricks
  • Valves on sewage and water systems to prevent backflow
Q.10
In 2014 residents living on the Somerset Levels accused the government of not preventing the flooding by failing to dredge the rivers and drainage ditches that criss-cross the land. How might this lack of dredging have contributed to the floods?
  • The shallower rivers and drainage had a reduced capacity. Had they been deeper the drainage system may have been able to drain the water out of the Somerset Levels
  • The main river channel had silted up entirely blocking the water from escaping. This caused the water to back up and lead to the flooding
  • Because of the silt in the channel and the amount carried by the river itself there was more volume of discharge, leading to the water overflowing the banks and flooding the area
  • The silting of the channel allowed the river to pick up greater velocity, causing greater damage when it escaped its banks
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