Managing unexpected flooding

Floods can be caused by high winds and heavy storms, even in areas that are not accustomed to witness such events. With the extreme weather conditions that we are facing today previously unflooded areas can receive a months worth of rainfall in one day. Such high volumes of water in a short time can overwhelm drainage systems. You have seen how heavy rain can rapidly fill rainwater soakaways or flow into a septic tank soakaway. Soak aways are not made to take these exceptional events and there is no quick soakaway test to check their effectiveness. Therefore, it is important that everyone knows how to react to an event such as a flood.

You may not receive fair warning of a flash flood, but you can certainly take preventive steps to protect your house from drastic damage.

Prevent water from entering your home.

If you are already aware of an expected storm or heavy downpour in your area, or if your house is located in a flood-prone area, you must act immediately, protecting your doors and windows using plywood and metal sheets and shielding them using sandbags. Silicone sealant is another thing that you can use during floods, to make sure that water doesn’t seep in into your home. Measures such as these will not last for days, but may shore up your house against a short-term flood and help to keep possessions dry.

Take care to ensure that your utilities are turned off.

Always keep in mind to switch off the essential utilities like gas, water and electricity at the mains switches and valves. You should also remember to unplug all your electrical appliances and store them at high places, on the second floor, if possible. This is so because the water that enters your home might climb several feet but if the appliances are kept at a height they would remain safe even in such a condition.

Pay particular attention to your appliances and house furniture.

They should be kept at a height so as to prevent them from getting soaked in water.
If a second floor is not available, as in case of a bungalow, raise items by arranging them on blocks or bricks. Your curtains and carpets should be removed immediately, you should even remove the internal doors in your home.
To keep them from away from floodwater, store all of these in elevated places.

Use higher grounds, particularly your house’s second floor, to store personal items such as important papers and pictures. To ensure total safety, you can put them up in waterproof containers like the ones used for storing food. If not, you should put important papers in sealed plastic bags to ensure that they are protected from water.

Rakes and other objects, that lie outside your house must be placed in secure places. These items can be readily picked up by floodwaters, and this might prove dangerous for others in the vicinity. A locked building like garage can be an ideal place to keep valuable items as it prevents their floating away for the duration of a flood. A heavy item like wheelbarrow can be very easily float if kept in the open but can be prevented from floating and damaged by floodwater if stored in the garage.

Once you have received a flood warning, there are several important tasks you must carry out immediately.

Correct information is vital in such circumstances.

Thus, you need to always listen to the radio for announcements and updates. Your co-operation with the local authorities and service providers is must in the hour of need. Once they ask you to relocate to some other place, do it without delay and save yourself and your family from any risks involved.

In such situations, it is quite probable for power to be unavailabile, which means that you must hurry to do everything you need to during the day. It is much more difficult and unsafe to do things in the dark. Keeping batteries and torches in places you will remember is a handy tip for coping with an emergency.

Alert your older neighbours to any new warnings, so they can get ready for the floods.

Secure yourself inside your house and do not go out. This is to ensure your safety as the flood water could be dangerous. Take notice of that fact that your car can float in two feet of water whereas six inches of rapidly flowing water is sufficient to make you fall.

Be sure to safeguard your pets and cars in secure places. As soon as you hear the flood warning announced move to the second floor. Do not attempt to swim through a flood when it is raging, as there may be items suspended in the water. You can get hurt by these objects or you might even be swept away.

Floodwater may be dirty and contaminated with sewage, so you should avoid contact if possible. It really wont be a good idea to fall ill because of the contaminated floodwater. The most dangerous areas during floods have been river bridges, sea defenses, and riverbanks, so it is always better to stay away from these during such situations. Because such waterfronts are often destroyed by the floods, taking everything around down with them.

The most-valuable steps for handling a flood warning

The most-valuable steps for handling a flood warning Floods can be caused by high winds and heavy storms, even in areas that are not accustomed to witness such events. A whole month’s quota of rain can fall in a single day in areas that have never witnessed floods, owing to the rapidly changing weather of today. One should be well equipped for any circumstances including flash floods. Although one cannot avoid natural disasters, you can surely protect your home from flash floods by following a few safety measures. Make provisions that restrict water from entering the house. If you are expecting heavy rains or storms to hit your area, particularly if you live in a flood-prone area, you should cover your doors, or even windows, with metal sheets, sandbags, or plywood. Silicone sealant is another thing that you can use during floods, to make sure that water doesn’t seep in…...

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