What is a flood? The dam breaking or the dam overflowing?
Dam breaking is a flaw in the infrastructure, not nature giving more than you can handle.
I believe the simple explanation is 'a great amount of water present in otherwise dry areas'. :-)
Realistically, the cause is irrelevent - flood insurance covers floods, while insurance that specifically states that floods are not covered does not cover floods. It couldn't be any simpler.
The court ruled correctly. The contract means what it says.
A flood is rising water. Or as the law dictionary says: "An inudation of water over land not usually covered by it...Stover v. US, D.C.Cal, 204 F.Supp. 477, 485.
both are a flood according to the verbiage in the CONTRACT otherwise known as a homeowners policy.