How do river levels rise in feet so quickly when we only get a couple inches of rain?

Question

How do river levels rise in feet so quickly when we only get a couple inches of rain?

In: Physics

Answer 1

When the rain collects around the river, the ground water swells and run off from other places not directly in the river tend to be pulled towards the river. This makes rivers rise quickly — the saturated water bed, and multiple smaller amounts of water that get pulled into the river from smaller tributaries.