Flooding

Failing to evacuate flooded areas, entering flood waters, or remaining after a flood has passed can result in injury or death. Flooding is a temporary overflow of water onto land that is normally dry. Floods are the most common natural disaster in the United States. Floods may:

• Result from rain, snow, coastal storms, storm surges, and overflows of dams and other water systems.
• Develop slowly or quickly – Flash floods can come with no warning.
• Cause outages, disrupt transportation, damage buildings, and create landslides.

 IF YOU ARE UNDER A FLOOD WARNING, FIND SAFE SHELTER RIGHT AWAY

• Do not walk, swim, or drive through flood waters. Turn Around, Don’t Drown!
  • Just six inches of moving water can knock you down, and one foot of moving water can sweep your vehicle away.
• Stay off of bridges over fast-moving water.
• Determine how best to protect yourself based on the type of flooding.
  • Evacuate if told to do so.
  • Move to higher ground or a higher floor.
  • Stay where you are.

HOW TO STAY SAFE WHEN A FLOOD THREATENS

Prepare NOW

• Know types of flood risk in your area. Visit FEMA’s Flood Map Service Center for information.
• Sign up for your community’s warning system. The Emergency Alert System (EAS) and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Weather Radio also provide emergency alerts.
• If flash flooding is a risk in your location, then monitor potential signs, such as heavy rain.
• Learn and practice evacuation routes, shelter plans, and flash flood response.
• Gather supplies in case you have to leave immediately, or if services are cut off. Keep in mind each person’s specific needs, including medication. Don’t forget the needs of pets. Obtain extra batteries and charging devices for phones and other critical equipment.
• Purchase or renew a flood insurance policy. It typically takes up to 30 days for a policy to go into effect and can protect the life you’ve built. Homeowner’s policies do not cover flooding. Get flood coverage under the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP)
• Keep important documents in a waterproof container. Create password-protected digital copies.
• Protect your property. Move valuables to higher levels. Declutter drains and gutters. Install check valves. Consider a sump pump with a battery.

Survive DURING

• Depending on where you are, and the impact and the warning time of flooding, go to the safe location that you previously identified.
• If told to evacuate, do so immediately. Never drive around barricades. Local responders use them to safely direct traffic out of flooded areas.
• Listen to EAS, NOAA Weather Radio, or local alerting systems for current emergency information and instructions.
• Do not walk, swim, or drive through flood waters. Turn Around. Don’t Drown!
• Stay off bridges over fast-moving water. Fast-moving water can wash bridges away without warning.
• If your vehicle is trapped in rapidly moving water, then stay inside. If water is rising inside the vehicle, then seek refuge on the roof.
• If trapped in a building, then go to its highest level. Do not climb into a closed attic. You may become trapped by rising floodwater. Go on the roof only if necessary. Once there, signal for help.

Be Safe AFTER

• Listen to authorities for information and instructions. Return home only when authorities say it is safe.
• Avoid driving, except in emergencies.
• Snakes and other animals may be in your house. Wear heavy gloves and boots during clean up.
• Be aware of the risk of electrocution. Do not touch electrical equipment if it is wet or if you are standing in water. If it is safe to do so, turn off the electricity to prevent electric shock.
• Avoid wading in floodwater, which can contain dangerous debris and be contaminated. Underground or downed power lines can also electrically charge the water.
• Use a generator or other gasoline-powered machinery ONLY outdoors and away from windows.

• Many people are killed by driving or walking on roads and bridges that are covered by water. Even though the water might look only inches deep, it could be much deeper and with very strong currents. It only takes two feet of water to carry away many cars; six inches of swiftly moving water will sweep a person off his feet.
• Most trucks, four-wheel drive, and sports utility vehicles also are susceptible to being swept away by high water. Such vehicles often give motorists a false sense of security, believing the vehicles are safe under any conditions. This belief results in deaths or emergency rescues of motorists in vehicles either stuck in or swept away by flood waters.
• If you are approaching a flooded roadway, turn around and take an alternate route. Even though vehicles in front of you have passed through the high water, you may not be as lucky.
• If your car stalls, abandon it immediately and climb to higher ground. Many deaths have resulted from attempts to move stalled vehicles.
• Never let children play near creeks or storm drains when the water is rising or high. Every year, deaths or injuries occur as a result of people getting swept away, with the most frequent victims being children.
• Flooded streams and rivers are not safe for recreational boating. Many canoeists and kayakers had to be rescued from dangerous rapids in flood-swollen streams and rivers.
• Never set up a tent or camper on the bank of a river or stream. It is best to allow some distance between the campsite and water so if a flash flood does occur, you will have more time to move to higher ground.
• If you live in a low-lying area or near a creek, pay close attention to water levels during heavy rain events. Water levels rise rapidly during flash floods, often surprising victims. Heavy rainfall upstream can cause a river or stream to rise quickly, even if it is not raining near you. Be prepared to move quickly to higher ground if water levels begin rising. Quickly responding to an evacuation order can save your life.
• If advised to evacuate, do so immediately. Follow recommended evacuation routes. Shortcuts may be blocked.
• Three types of flooding occur in North Carolina:

• Floods and Flash Floods can occur away from an area of heavy rain.  Especially in hilly or mountainous areas, rainfall that occurs upstream can result in flash floods downhill or downstream from where the heavier rain fell.  This happened in early January 1998 when up to 15 inches of rain fell of higher terrain in the mountains and caused major flash flooding in lower elevations.  People in Avery, Mitchell, and Yancey Counties reported a “wall of water” that ripped through several communities.

• Flash Floods are most common in the warm season due to thunderstorms dropping large amounts of rain in short periods of time.  Although hilly and mountainous terrain is especially prone to flash floods, even relatively flat areas can experience them.  Flash floods created by poor drainage and deep ponding of water on the roads occurred in May 1999 in Pamlico, Carteret, and Craven Counties when eastern areas of North Carolina received four to six inches of rain.

• General River and Urban Flooding was widespread over North Carolina during the late winter and early spring months of 1998.  Large rainfall amounts fell on ground already saturated by previous heavy rains causing heavy run-off into swollen rivers and streams