IGCSE Geography / River environments

Predicting and preventing river floods revision notes

Edexcel International GCSE Geography (4GE1), chapter 1: River environments, specification point 1.3c. Part of the full course.

Watch the video lesson · IGCSE Geography past papers

River flood risk is managed through prediction, prevention and preparation. Knowing how each works, and the advantages and disadvantages of different methods, helps you answer questions accurately.

More lessons in River environments

• The hydrological cycle: a closed system and its stores
• Transfers in the hydrological cycle
• Drainage basins and their features
• River regimes and what controls them
• Storm hydrographs
• How rivers erode
• Weathering and mass movement in river valleys
• How rivers carry and drop their load
• Long profile and cross profiles
• How a river changes downstream
• V-shaped valleys, interlocking spurs and waterfalls
• Meanders and oxbow lakes
• Flood plains and levees
• Case study: the River Tay from source to mouth
• Water: uses, rising demand and supply
• Water quality and pollution
• Storing and supplying clean water
• Case study: river management in Spain
• Case study: river management in China
• Case study: managing the Blue Nile in Ethiopia
• Why rivers flood
• River fieldwork: collecting the data
• River fieldwork: results, conclusions and evaluation