Important things to know: Water is the source of all known life on the planet for it formless, shapeless and ubiquitous. However, water can flow creating life as easily as it can crush destroying it. In another words there is no natural disaster which can take so many forms as flood. If you have a nice country house on a sea shore you should certainly be aware of coastal floods possibility. Meanwhile, river floods, caused by blockages or excessive rain, tropical storms or hurricanes can travel hundreds of miles from the original source. Of course no one can feel 100% secure in front of urban floods threat. For instance, when sewerage can’t handle downfall streams a water breakthrough can easily turn city streets into swiftly moving river. There are cases when the flood itself is not that dangerous as its aftermath such as mudslides, landslides and others.
The most dangerous type of deluge is flash flooding for it appears within hours and even minutes after actual disaster carrying enough destructive power to uproot trees, topple buildings, and wash away bridges. The cause of flash flood can be dike failure, or ice jam’s breaking as well as heavy rains from tropical storms or hurricanes.
All that doesn’t necessarily means there is no safe area at all and you should become paranoid considering yourself in danger 24-7. However it would certainly be a mistake coming to a conclusion that deluge possibility simply doesn’t concern you only because you live relatively far from any major water sources. According to the National Weather Service, there are more then 200 people die from floods every year. Thus, inundation threat definitely needs to be considered with caution and responsibility.
So even if you’re not constantly practicing your disaster plan or developing multifunctional first aid kit in order to have yourself prepared for all possible chain of events you should certainly know basic flood terms:
- “Flood Watch” means that flooding is possible. First thing you need to do is to turn on a local radio or television in order to be aware of any possible situation development.
- “Flash Flood Watch”. It literally says that flash flooding is possible. In such case it would be reasonable to take any precautions you can, while waiting for following instructions. Keep in mind that flash flooding is the fastest moving kind of flood. It can sometimes reach you within few minutes after actual disaster. Therefore, there is usually little warning. So in such case you shouldn’t rely too much on your local authorities’ instructions. The best thing to do would to move to the higher ground and keep communication as long as possible, listening to NOAA Weather Radio, any commercial station, or television for updated information.
- “Flood Warning”: flooding is occurring or will occur soon. If advised to evacuate, don’t hesitate to leave everything behind, and do so immediately.