Water can enter coastal systems and produce flooding in a variety of ways. Elevated water levels due to storm surge and wave setup, wave overtopping, runoff from heavy rain events, and increased river discharge resulting from upstream dam releases or appreciable rainfall induce flow to low-lying coastal areas with the potential to result in flooding.
Apart from the damaging water masses, flood flows can move a considerable amount of sediment. This aspect usually receives less attention than the dynamics and the presence of floodwaters, but the movement of sediment nonetheless affects infrastructure, communities, and even the flood flows themselves.