River dredging doesn't prevent flooding, but it does diminish some of the associated risks. Dredging is crucial to preserving the natural flow of a river and reduces the potential of a likely disaster from occurring in cities that are prone to reoccurring flooding during rainy seasons.

How does dredging reduce flooding?

The basic aim of dredging is to remove silt - which consists of fine sand, clay and small particles of rock - from the river's bed, potentially increasing its capacity to carry water downstream.

Does dredging a river prevent flooding?

Dredging of river channels does not prevent flooding during extreme river flows … The concept of dredging to prevent extreme flooding is equivalent to trying to squeeze the volume of water held by a floodplain within the volume of water held in the river channel.