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Concept
Coastal flooding
Summary
Coastal flooding occurs when dry and low-lying land is submerged (flooded) by seawater. The range of a coastal flooding is a result of the elevation of floodwater that penetrates the inland which is controlled by the topography of the coastal land exposed to flooding. The seawater can flood the land via several different paths: direct flooding, overtopping of a barrier, or breaching of a barrier. Coastal flooding is largely a natural event. Due to the effects of climate change (e.g. sea level rise and an increase in extreme weather events) and an increase in the population living in coastal areas, the damage caused by coastal flood events has intensified and more people are being affected.
Coastal areas are sometimes flooded by unusually high tides, such as spring tides, especially when compounded by high winds and storm surges. This was the cause of the North Sea flood of 1953 which flooded large swathes of the Netherlands and the East coast of England.
Human influence on the coastal environment can exacerbate coastal flooding. Extraction of water from groundwater reservoirs in the coastal zone can instigate subsidence of the land, thus increasing the risk of flooding. Engineered protection structures along the coast such as sea walls alter the natural processes of the beach, often leading to erosion on adjacent stretches of the coast which also increases the risk of flooding.
The seawater can flood the land via several different paths:
Direct flooding — where the sea height exceeds the elevation of the land, often where waves have not built up a natural barrier such as a dune
Overtopping of a barrier — the barrier may be natural or human-engineered and overtopping occurs due to swelling conditions during storms or high tides often on open stretches of the coast. The height of the waves exceeds the height of the barrier and water flows over the top of the barrier to flood the land behind it. Overtopping can result in high velocity flows that can erode significant amounts of the land surface which can undermine defense structures.
Official source
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