Floods, big or small, can have devastating effects on your home and your family. Each year, more deaths are caused by flooding than any other hazard related to thunderstorms. The most common flood deaths occur when a vehicle is driven into hazardous flood water. Fortunately, you can take steps to protect yourself, your family, and your home.
Safety Tips:
- Avoid walking or driving through flood waters.
- Do not drive over bridges that are over fast-moving floodwaters. Floodwaters can scour foundation material from around the footings and make the bridge unstable.
- Just 6 inches of moving water can knock you down, and one foot of moving water can sweep your vehicle away.
- If there is a chance of flash flooding, move immediately to higher ground.
- If floodwaters rise around your car but the water is not moving, abandon the car and move to higher ground. Do not leave the car and enter moving water.
- Avoid camping or parking along streams, rivers, and creeks during heavy rainfall. These areas can flood quickly and with little warning.
If flooding is immenent be sure to gather emergency supplies, listen to your local radio or television station, fill bathtubs, sinks, gallon jars and plastic soda bottles so that you have a supply of clean water, move posessions to the highest floor of your house and bring in outdoor possessions or tie them down securly. If evacuation is ncessary, turn off all utilities at the main power switch and close the main gas valve.
Additional Resources
CDC "Be Ready Floods" Infographic
WI DHS Flood Toolkit
WI DHS "Flood Hazards and Recovery"
CDC "Floods"
FEMA "Floods"
