The Geography of Risks of Breakthrough of Glacial Lakes and Valleys

Abstract

Against the background of climate warming, various natural events are frequent. One of them is floods, which occur when drowned lakes that are damaged by many factors break through. Such events are common during the advance and retreat of glaciers. The resulting dammed lakes differ from each other in their strength, duration, character and other properties. The result of floods has mostly a negative impact on the surrounding area in the glacier valley. There are examples of both processes in Georgia, and their results are always negative, so their study and some kind of systematization is necessary to properly manage the expected natural event to avoid the catastrophic consequences of overflowing floods.