Many parts of Christchurch flooded yesterday. In some areas, water came inside houses. One woman said she woke in the morning and her cat jumped on the bed as usual. When she touched the cat, she realized it was wet and when she looked on the floor of her bedroom, she saw water all around her bed.
Some of the flooding was caused by heavy rain which had nowhere to go. Storm water drains in some parts of the city are still broken after the earthquake. Some flooding was caused by rivers breaking their banks at high tide. Again, this is because of the earthquake. It changed the rivers. In some places, the Avon River, which flows through much of Christchurch, became narrower. The water now is very near the top of the banks even when there is no rain. And some of the flooding was caused by changes in the level of the ground as a result of the earthquakes. Some of the land was pushed up and some land dropped by about 50cm. Water from the higher land, flooded the lower land.
The Council now has to decide what to do about the areas that flooded because it could happen again. Drains need to be fixed and perhaps bigger drains need to be built. The river needs to be widened. New houses built in flood areas need to be lifted.
Vocabulary
storm water drains – pipes under ground which take rain water out to sea
Grammar
Note this passive: need to be fixed / built/ widened / lifted
Many measurement verbs are made from the adjective or noun: e.g. wide, widen; length, lengthen, short, shorten