There is an urgent need to manage climate change which eventually causes floods that cause damage to human life and property. These types of natural disasters are witnessed in the Midwest where the United States Army Corps of Engineers build various forms of engineering projects, which in turn cause increased floods. Samuel Munoz, an assistant professor of Marine and Environmental Sciences at Northeastern University says that the situation of climate change adds to the danger of predictability of floods.
On interviewing Munoz, he was asked the reason behind the flooding of the Arkansas River. He says that now we are in the El Nino phase, where the oscillation of the temperature on the sea-surface affects the climate all over the world including Texas, the Great Plains, and the upper Midwest. Currently, because of climate change, the Pacific events get a warmer climate which may lead to flooding.
He also claimed that the flooding of the Arkansas River was pretty unusual and is breaking records. He further blames the flooding on the construction of levees which narrow the flow of the river. The water is forced to go through a smaller area. These constructions were built as per the mid -20th century climate but now, seeing the climate change the infrastructure needs to be updated.
On asked about the conditions of people who live along the Mississippi, he says that the water will take time to move out to the sea. For avoiding dangerous consequences, the Army Corps has built floodgates that will open in case the pressure on levees gets too high.
Though there has been research conducted, the basic reason behind Arkansas getting flooded is still unclear. It could be climate change or the various engineering projects on the river that lead to these natural disasters. Hence, he says “Some say flooding will get worse; some say it won’t”.
Akshara Palshetkar