''The river has burst it's banks'

Question

We have had horrendous rains in England and I want to write to my Spanish friend that the river Exe( my local river) has bursts it's banks: El río Exe se ha rompido sus orillas? or el río ha salido de su lecho? Does either make sense, or is there another expression? Muchas gracias!

Answer 1

Hi Annie!

"El río Exe se ha desbordado"

and I think that it must be its, not it's , and roto, not rompido

Yes, thank you cogumela, roto, it must be, but desbordado sounds best so far. There is water in all the fields, that much is clear. - annierats, Jan 4, 2012

Great answer, Laura! :) - Izanoni1, Jan 4, 2012

Answer 2

El río Exe se ha rompido sus orillas. - Romper comes up for burst in the sense of a dam bursting, so that's probably good.

In any case, this would be "El río Exe ha roto sus orillas", but I doubt this is said that way :) - cogumela, Jan 4, 2012

Thank you both. - annierats, Jan 4, 2012

Thanks Jeremias, we're both wiser! - annierats, Jan 5, 2012

As always, but never wise enough. - Jeremias, Jan 5, 2012

Answer 3

"Se ha salido de su cauce el río Exe" could work, but I think that the example given by Laura is probably a much more common way to say that "the river has overflowed its banks." In any case, "desbordarse" is certainly the more common verb to use amongst news agencies.

Thank you izanoni, probably the newsagencies know best, in this instance. - annierats, Jan 5, 2012