flood
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flood
A situation in which water covers large areas of land that are normally dry. This often happens because of high water levels in rivers, heavy rainfall, or storm surges.
Die Überschwemmung hat in der Region schwere Schäden an Häusern und in der Landwirtschaft verursacht.
The flood caused serious damage to houses and agriculture in the region.
'Die Überschwemmung' (the flood) is the noun corresponding to the verb 'überschwemmen' (to flood), a synonym of 'überfluten' (to flood). The ending '-ung' forms a feminine noun from the verb that describes the event or state.
Das Dorf erholt sich langsam von der Überschwemmung.
The village is slowly recovering from the flood.
In the figurative meaning, the structure 'eine Überschwemmung von' (a flood of) + noun in the dative plural is used. The expression is often intensified with 'eine wahre' (a real) or 'eine regelrechte' (a veritable).
Nach der Ankündigung gab es eine wahre Überschwemmung von Bewerbungen.
After the announcement, there was a real flood of applications.
Common verbs used with the literal 'Überschwemmung' (flood) are 'eine Überschwemmung verursachen' (to cause a flood), 'zu einer Überschwemmung führen' (to lead to a flood), or 'vor einer Überschwemmung warnen' (to warn of a flood).
Der Dammbruch führte zu einer katastrophalen Überschwemmung.
The dam burst led to a catastrophic flood.
tide / flood
'die Flut' and 'die Überschwemmung' can both mean that water comes onto dry land. In this sense, they are often very similar. 'Überschwemmung' especially describes the situation or event: streets, basements, or fields are under water. 'Flut' can also be used this way, but it also has an important meaning at the sea: during 'die Flut' (high tide), the water level rises, even without causing damage. In a figurative sense, both can mean a very large amount, for example 'eine Flut' or 'Überschwemmung von Informationen' (a flood of information). The risk of confusion is high because both have to do with a lot of water and large amounts. As a practical rule: when talking about damage caused by water, 'Überschwemmung' is very precise; when talking about tides at the sea, you say 'Flut'.
Nach dem starken Regen gab es in mehreren Straßen eine Überschwemmung.
After the heavy rain, several streets were flooded.
An der Nordsee kommt die Flut heute am frühen Abend.
On the North Sea coast, high tide comes early this evening.