Heavy Flooding

Although summer is almost over we ten have had a few heavy storms. These storms can cause some trouble because the storms are strong with high winds and heavy rain; with rain comes heavy flooding conditions. In order to protect yourself and your family while traveling through flooding conditions you must be aware of some of the options you have to keep yourself safe until the flooding has subsided. There is a chance you may have to leave your home in the event of a heavy flooding condition although you should not travel during heavy rain but the cases you have to leave your home here are some tips you can use to travel to a safer location.

When there is an alert on flooding condition you will hear two terms either “flood watch” or “flood warning”. A flood watch means be aware the conditions are favorable for your area to see some possible flooding. You should be preparing yourself and your family in the event there is substantial flooding in your area. All important items in your home should be moved to higher places within your home. Any outside furniture which can be washed away in a flood should be brought inside. All electrical equipment should be disconnected and do not touch any wet or equipment found in water.

A flood warning means your area is currently flooding or will start to flood very soon. Hopefully you have already taken the actions necessary to protect you family and valuables at this point. You safest option is to move to higher ground if you are forced to evacuate avoid driving through flooded waters. You do not know what is in the water or how deep the water is it would be best to find an alternative route to safety. The amount of water needed to knock you down or sweep your vehicle away is very little so do not take any chances. You should already have an emergency home kit already in place. If you need some guidance on putting a kit together please see my “emergencypreparedness “article.

I hope this post was helpful please leave a comment

Mark Carvajal