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THE FLOOD THAT STRIKES IN A FLASH Q. 1\lr. Kohler, are flash floods getting increasing attention from the National Weather Service? A. Indeed they are. Among the reasons, of course, are the wide- spread and destructive flash floods along the Eastern Seaboard that were associated with Tropical Storm Agnes in late June, the flash flood in Rapid City, South Dakota, on the night of June 9-10, in which at least 226 people died, and the flood in West Virginia last February, which killed 1 t 8. Before that there was the unprece- dented flooding from Hurricane Camille in 1969 in Virginia, which killed 153. All of these have generated a great deal of interest in improvement of warning services. We're trying to respond to that, along with a number of other agencies. Q. lust how do you define a flash flood? A. It's a relative term. There is no general agreement on what a flash flood is. We think of it as something that takes place within four to six hours after the storm that caused it. Q. Are floods that result primarily from a dam failure, such as the one on Buffalo Creek in 'Vest Virginia this }'ear, your respon- sibility? A. We take the attitude that, wherever there is a possibility of Edwin P. Weigel interviewed Mr. Kohler for NOAA Magazine. -. ~~ ~ ""'~,,::':W.:, " flooding, we will do whatever we can to warn people. Generally speaking, however, we can be most effective where a flood is a result of a meteorological event; then we can combine the skills of weather forecasting with our understanding of stream and river flow. We don't have the resources to set up warning systems for people living immediately below every small darn that might fail. There are too many dams. Once a dam has burst, however, we may be in a posi- tion to warn people, if they are far enough downstream. Q. Are flash floods becoming more prevalent, possibly because of manmade changes in our environment, such as paving over of grassland and replacement of forests w'ith concrete, asphal!.t and steel? A. That is of course a factor, but I think the more important thing is that more people are locating themselves in areas that are subject to flooding. What may seem to bd an increase in flash-flood- ing is in reality increased exposure. Q. How many people are killed annually by floods, as compared to, sa,"', tornadoes? A. During the lO-year period 1961 through [970. there were 857 deaths from floods, for an average of 86 a year, and 966 deaths from tornadoes, for an average of 97 a year, Q. How many of the flood deaths were from flash floods?