Based on Federal Emergency Management Administration’s website (FEMA): Flooding is described as a temporary overflow of water onto land that is normally dry. Floods are the most common natural disaster in the United States. Failing to evacuate flooded areas or entering floodwaters can lead to injury or death. In my opinion, to simply state that it could lead to injury or death does not ring the alarm loud enough to convey the seriousness of flood caused disasters. FEMA continues to warn us that only a foot of floodwater is enough to sweep a car away and is also one of the leading causes of death among all-natural disasters.
What is now a well-kept secret should have instead been a well-publicized phenomenon, that is floodwaters kill more people than any other disasters you can think of whether it is the result of hurricanes, tornadoes, or earthquakes recorded in the US. One no longer must be residing near the Mississippi River or any other less known river to be affected by floodwaters. My basement was flooded this week due to flash flooding as a result of tropical storm IDA remnant that caused major devastation in its northeastern path before its degradation, in addition, I must remind all of you that I don’t reside in a flood zone. Put climate debates aside, if a flood is imminent in your area or is due to just a surprise occurrence, there are certain steps that you can take to minimize the damage, recover quickly, or avoid being affected altogether. The government via FEMA advises:
1. staying where you are during a flood for attempting to drive can be very risky.
2. Avoid standing on bridges over fast-moving waters.
3. Move to higher ground or higher floors.
4. Evacuate if told to do so by local, state, or federal authorities.
5. Include your pets in your plan
6. Review the flood zone map
7. Do not walk, swim or drive through floodwaters
For context, the average annual price tag of flood-related damages in the United States is $8.3 Billion according to the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety, and only the second cause of death after extreme heat as demonstrated by a graph found on the National Weather Service’s https://www.weather.gov/hazstat/ on average in the last 30 years. So, an homeowners’ priority should focus on preparation which includes preparations, mitigations, and recovery. In my case the floodwaters started gushing into my basement in less than an hour after the rain has started, that is a translation to say that a flood could come with or without notice; my phone flood alert system went off minutes after I started fighting the floodwaters.
Knowing that all of us are subjected to the fury of raging floodwater I am going to share with you some of never shared items that are must-have in your mitigation-prevention plan.
you can start by installing water level sensors for your basement with WiFi enabled alert if you happen to be sleep during a flood event some suggestions can be found on this page.