Inflows of water displaced the serfs (8)

I believe the answer is:

freshets

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'inflows of water' is the definition.
Although both the answer and definition are plural nouns, I cannot understand how one could define the other.

'displaced the serfs' is the wordplay.
'displaced' is an anagram indicator.
'the'+'serfs'='theserfs'
'theserfs' with letters rearranged gives 'FRESHETS'.

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I've seen this clue in The Independent.

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