Page 166 - Science Class 06

Effects on Soil
v Floods cause water logging in fields for
a long me. This may lead to the death
of small organisms present in the soil,
which help in maintaining the fer lity of
the soil. In absence of these organisms
the fer lity of the soil is affected.
v Heavy rainfall also causes soil erosion.
Flowing water carries away top layer of
the soil from one place to other. This
process is called soil erosion. As top soil
is very fer le, so loss of this top soil
affects the fer lity of the soil.
v But, when flood is caused due to rivers,
the fer lity of the soil is increased
because river water develops layer of
silt and flushes salts.
Effects on People
v Many people get drowned and swept
away by flood water.
v A number of houses are destroyed and
property worth crores of rupees also
gets damaged.
v Roads, electric supply, telephone lines,
supply of drinking water, etc. gets
disrupted.
v People face the problem of shortage of
clean drinking water as most of the
water sources are submerged in flood
water which contains rubbish.
v Many poisonous insects and animals are
flushed into the houses which may
harm the people.
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A scene from flood affected area.
v Shortage of food grains is another
problem caused by floods. Stored food
grains are destroyed by flood water.
Besides, crop plants also gets destroyed
in the field.
v Social ac vi es get a halt in severe
flood situa on. Educa onal ins tutes,
hospitals, transporta on links, etc. are
collapsed.
Effects on Animals
v A large number of animals also get
drowned in flood water and are swept
away.
v Flood water also destroys fodder which
causes shortage of food for the animals.
In this case, many animals die due to
starva on.
Effects on Plants and Animals Living in
River or Ponds
v Whenever, it rains heavily the animals
living in rivers and ponds are swept
away to nearby fields. They die of
asphyxia on as they are dumped on
land.
v Flood water also carries away harmful
chemicals, fer lizer and pes cides from
the fields and deposits them in nearby
water bodies. These harmful chemicals
Science-6