Flood. (Source: © Cameron / stock.adobe.com)

An event in which water overflows into a normally dry area, e.g., from a river, sea, or lake. Flooding can have a number of causes, such as intense rainfall, a hurricane, a tsunami, rapid thawing, or dam damage. Floods can have a devastating effect on human settlements, so people try to prevent them, for example, by building dams to hold back water during floods.