‭Syllabus reference:‬‭2.

2 Rivers‬

‭Levels marking‬
‭Level 1 (1–3 marks)‬

‭●‬ ‭Statements including limited detail which explain the causes of flooding.‬

‭Level 2 (4–6 marks)‬

‭‬ U
● ‭ ses named example.‬
‭●‬ ‭More developed statements which explain the causes of flooding.‬

‭(Note: Max 5 if no named or inappropriate example)‬

‭Level 3 (7 marks)‬

‭●‬ ‭Comprehensive and accurate statements including some place specific reference.‬
‭Syllabus reference:‬‭2.2 Rivers‬
‭Question/s:‬‭Describe the opportunities of living near‬‭a named river you have studied.‬
‭Answers are likely to refer to:‬

‭‬
● ‭ ertile soil / High yields of crops‬
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‭●‬ ‭Land is flat so easy to build on‬
‭●‬ ‭Communications on land are easy along flood plain‬
‭●‬ ‭River can sometimes be used for navigation‬
‭●‬ ‭Fishing/food supply‬
‭●‬ ‭Water supply / Irrigation‬
‭●‬ ‭Leisure‬
‭●‬ ‭HEP (Hydroelectric Projects)‬
‭●‬ ‭Industry‬

‭Sample answer‬‭:‬
‭River:‬‭Godavari‬
‭ iver Godavari is India’s second largest river. The source of River Godavari is located in‬
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‭Maharashtra.‬
‭The river presents an array of opportunities to humans ranging from tourism to irrigation.‬
‭ o begin with, River Godavari has dams such as the Sriram Sagar Dam built on it. This project‬
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‭helps to generate hydroelectric power (HEP), which is used to power the surroundings and to‬
‭ensure the smooth flow of all economic activities such as industries and commerce.‬
‭ urthermore, the river also provides tourism opportunities. Tourism is popular in and around this‬
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‭river and helps to boost the local economy as hotels, restaurants, souvenir stores, etc. are set up‬
‭catering to them. A famous example of tourist attractions are the houseboats present in the river.‬
‭Tourists are taken around the river by the means of the houseboat and they can also reside there‬
‭if they chose to. Tourists also visit the Konaseema Islands for tourism.‬
‭ dditionally, the river water is also used for agricultural purposes. The water is used for irrigation‬
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‭of crops such as rice and cotton in the fertile black soil of Maharashtra and Telangana. This in‬
‭turn helps increase the food production and supply to sustain the growing population.‬
‭ astly, the river is also culturally significant as it is considered sacred by the Hindu religion.‬
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‭Therefore, pilgrims come here often as a part of the famous Kumbh Mela and also sometimes to‬
‭bathe in the sacred river. This further leads to the employment of several labourers for logistics of‬
‭the Mela.‬
‭ herefore, we can see that rivers such as the Godavari offer many economic and social‬
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‭opportunities to humans.‬

‭GODAVARI - 2nd largest India, source: Maharashtra‬

‭ .‬
1 ‭ riram Sagar Dam, HEP,‬
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‭2.‬ ‭Tourism, boost economy, houseboats, Konaseema islands‬
‭3.‬ ‭Agriculture, rice cotton‬
‭4.‬ ‭Sacred, hindus, Kumbh mela,‬
‭Syllabus reference:‬‭2.2 Rivers‬
‭Question/s:‬‭For a named river you have studied, explain‬‭the causes of flooding.‬
‭Answers are likely to refer to:‬

‭‬
● ‭ eavy rainfall / Rainfall over a long period of time‬
H
‭●‬ ‭Saturation of rock/soil/ground‬
‭●‬ ‭Overland flow / Rapid run off‬
‭●‬ ‭Rapid increase in river discharge‬
‭●‬ ‭Deforestation‬
‭●‬ ‭Lack of flood management‬
‭●‬ ‭Urban development in river catchment/on flood plain‬
‭●‬ ‭Snow melt / Build up of waste in the river‬

‭Sample answer‬‭:‬
‭River:‬‭Brahmaputra‬
‭ he River Brahmaputra originates in Himalayas, and joins the River Ganga before it drains into‬
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‭the Bay of Bengal. This river floods annually, causing severe impacts in Bangladesh. There are‬
‭several natural and human causes for the flooding of this river.‬
‭ he source of this river is the glaciers of the Himalayas. During the summer season, the melting‬
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‭of the ice caps provides water to this river. Due to global climate change, more snow melts due to‬
‭higher temperatures, resulting in greater water discharge that causes flooding.‬
‭ his region also receives around 80% of its annual rainfall in a short span of June to September‬
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‭during the monsoon season. This high level of precipitation is another reason for the floods.‬
‭ eforestation on the slopes of Himalayas is another reason for the frequent flooding observed in‬
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‭Brahmaputra. Trees absorb water from the soil and act as natural stores in the hydrological‬
‭cycle. However, the lack of trees due to logging results in greater overland flow, which causes the‬
‭river to flood.‬
‭ he government of Bangladesh had built embankments near the lower course of this river.‬
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‭However, they were poorly constructed and not regularly maintained. These embankments also‬
‭created a bottleneck, leading to severe flooding upstream.‬
‭ he drainage basin of this river is not properly managed, with deforestation on flood plains in‬
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‭order to use land for agriculture and due to urbanisation. This results in less infiltration of water‬
‭into the soil.‬
‭All these factors have resulted in frequent floods in River Brahmaputra.‬

‭BRAHMAPUTRA - Source: Himalayas, joins Ganga, Annual flooding‬

‭1)‬ C ‭ limate change, melting of snowcaps (summer) , flooding lower Assam & hills of‬
‭Arunachal Pradesh‬
‭2)‬ ‭80% rainfall in june-sep‬
‭3)‬ ‭Deforestation in BRM watershed,‬
‭4)‬ ‭Poorly constructed embankments, bottleneck: flooding upstream‬
‭5)‬ ‭Poorly managed drainage basin, cut trees for agriculture because urbanisation‬
‭Syllabus reference:‬‭2.2 Rivers‬
‭ uestion/s:‬‭For a named river you have studied, describe‬‭the hazards for people caused by‬
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‭flooding.‬
‭Answers are likely to refer to:‬

‭‬
● ‭ eaths and injuries‬
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‭●‬ ‭Damage to property‬
‭●‬ ‭Damage to possessions‬
‭●‬ ‭Disruption of transport‬
‭●‬ ‭Damage to crops/farmland/livestock‬
‭●‬ ‭Water borne disease‬

‭M‭a
‬ in article:‬‭2022 Assam floods‬
‭ he floods in May, 2022 were caused due to above normal rainfall across the state.‬‭[45]‬ ‭As of 25th‬
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‭May, more than 6 lakh people were affected and 25 have lost their lives.‬‭[46]‬‭[47]‬ ‭According to Assam‬
‭State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA), thousands of villages and more than 60,000‬
‭hectares (600 km‬‭2‬‭) of crop area have been affected‬‭across the state. Authorities are running‬
‭several relief camps and distribution centres across the state sheltering thousands of people.‬‭[48]‬
‭Railway lines were also affected due to flooding and landslides.‬‭[49]‬
‭2022 India–Bangladesh floods Date 23 May 2022 to present Location India (Assam,‬

‭Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura): Bangladesh (Sylhet, Mymensingh, Rangpur,‬

‭Rajshahi divisions) Cause Heavy monsoon rains Deaths 250+ India: Assam: 170+ Other‬

‭northeastern states: 30+ Bangladesh: 80+ Property damage India: 4,000+ villages 113,000‬

‭hectares of crop area Bangladesh: 53,000 hectares of crop area Website [1] Millions of people‬

‭across the affected areas are reported to be in urgent need of food and medicine.[3]‬‭[6]‬‭Around‬

‭40% of Assam's area is a‬‭flood plain‬‭, which is also‬‭roughly 10% of India's total flood-prone‬

‭area. According to‬‭ISRO‬‭, nearly 30% of Assam's land‬‭area have been flooded at least once‬

‭from 1998 to 2015. Heavy rainfall and settling of sediments plays a major role in rising the‬

‭water level of the Brahmaputra river and its tributaries. Also, according to a survey, the‬

‭Brahmaputra has been widening yearly due to erosion, which also makes the flooding worse.‬

‭ RAHMAPUTRA - Assam, Meghalaya, Source: Himalayas, joins Ganga, Annual flooding,‬

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‭May 2022‬
‭‬ 6
● ‭ lakh affected, 25 lost lives‬
‭●‬ ‭Acooriding to assam state disaster management authorities(ASDMA), 60,000‬
‭hecters of farming land has been lost‬
‭●‬ ‭Disruption of transport, Affected railway lines‬
‭●‬ ‭Shortage of food and medicine in Bangladesh and Assam‬
‭●‬ ‭4000+ properties damaged‬
‭Syllabus reference: 2.2 Rivers‬
‭ uestion/s: For a named river you have studied, describe how it is managed to reduce the risk of‬
Q
‭flooding.‬
‭Answers are likely to refer to:‬

‭‬
● ‭ onitoring,‬
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‭●‬ ‭Building dams/reservoirs;‬
‭●‬ ‭Increasing height of banks/levees,‬
‭●‬ ‭Dredging/Widening,‬
‭●‬ ‭Overflow/flood relief channels‬
‭●‬ ‭Afforestation‬
‭●‬ ‭Early Warning‬
‭●‬ ‭Housing adaptations/zoning‬
‭●‬ ‭Clearing debris from river‬

‭River:‬‭Yangtze‬
‭ he River Yangtze in China has historically been prone to flooding. In order to manage these,‬
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‭China has undertaken several measures over the years.‬
‭ ver 3,600km of levees and embankments have been built, especially in urban areas such as‬
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‭Badong in Hubei, to protect over 80 million people. This reduces the risk of flooding as the banks‬
‭have been raised, accommodating more water in the river channel.‬
‭ he Three Gorges Dam built on this river was completed in 2012. This dam protects over 100‬
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‭million people and controls river flooding more effectively than any other method. The dam has‬
‭the ability to store water and control the summer floods and releasing water gradually during the‬
‭dry season. Millions of people living downstream in places like Wuhan now have the risk of‬
‭natural flooding greatly reduced. However, for the thousands of people who live upstream in‬
‭areas such as Jingjiang Basin, their home and land have become permanently submerged under‬
‭the newly created lake by deliberate flooding.‬
‭ evees and dams are hard engineering techniques that modify the river channel to control‬
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‭flooding.‬
‭ hina has also employed a range of ecological strategies like tree planting in upstream areas‬
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‭and floodplain restoration over the last decade have helped to mitigate the impact of extreme‬
‭flooding, as these decrease the infiltration rate of precipitation. The government's “sponge cities”‬
‭project aims to increase green spaces and permeable pavement to absorb more rainwater in‬
‭urban spaces prone to flooding.‬
‭ hese are the river management techniques used to reduce the risk of flooding of the Yangtze‬
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‭River.‬

‭YANGTZE - China, Historically prone to flooding‬

‭‬
● ‭ 600km of levees and embankments, urban areas, protecting 80 million people‬
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‭●‬ ‭The Three Gorges Dam built in 2012, protects 100m+, release in dry seasons‬
‭●‬ ‭Both are hard engineering techniques‬
‭●‬ ‭Tree planting in upstream over last decade, decrease infiltration, made “sponge‬
‭cities”‬