Explain how forests prevent floods.

Forest acts as a natural absorber of water. It allows rain water to seep through. In the absence of trees, the rain water would hit the ground directly resulting in flood. However, because of the presence of trees, rain water does not hit the ground directly. It rather hits the ground slowly. Hence, before flooding, all the rain water seeps through ground. In this way, forests prevent floods.

Forests and any vegetation holds the soil together and stalls runoff of rainwater. This holds the water in the uppermost layer of composted material and keeps it away from water bodies thus preventing floods.