The atmospheric river deluging California has placed 25 million people under flood alerts.
Over 13 inches of rain has drenched central California causing catastrophic flooding and the evacuation of 10,000 people from their communities, killing two. The biggest impact remains to be seen as rains are forecasted to continue. Questions and criticism has taken aim at the response of public services as infrastructure appears to falter. Rather than pointing fingers, the best solution is in self preparation and self reliance.
We have to ask ourselves, are families and communities prepared for the impact of historic flooding?
Floods are the most common natural disaster in the United States.
Prepare your Family, NOW!
If you live in or near:
· a flood plain,
· a geographical area that is near a moving body of water,
· land that is protected by levees,
· land that has a history (even if it only occurred once in 100-years) of flooding,
· a region that will eventually be impacted by rising sea levels,
develop your family flood plan NOW.
Top 10 Things to plan for in the event of a flood:
1. Know where your family members are
Watch your local weather forecasts and know where your family members are if conditions get dicy. If the potential for a flood exists, cancel all plans and get your family home as soon as possible.
Planning for disaster is like buying home insurance. You never know when you will need it, but when you do, you'll be glad you did it.
Start planning as soon as possible and practice executing several times a year.
If don't have the time or don't know how to get the research done, consider our Family Disaster Response Planning.
We at Family Disaster Prep believe the best bug out bags are built by you. But if you're having trouble getting everything together, or simply want a reliable solution you can add too, we've designed and built a line of Evac Kits.
The Evac Kits are for families that have very little time to react to a natural disaster, cannot shelter-in place, and need a solution that is supported and reliable. The Family Disaster Prep Evac Kits are the only bug out bags supported by a warranty.
4. Know the terrain, places of shelter or refuge, and use tools to evaluate the terrain of your communities and evacuation routes:
FEMA flood map service center - provides expert records and tools to help determine the risks in your areas.
Risk Factor - has an easy to use flood risk assessment tool.
Google FloodHub - is an easy to use resource to determine the flood risk to your home and evacuation routes.
5. Plan your evacuation route, follow our guide to find the best places to go.
Always defer to roads designated as evacuation routes by local or state authorities. These will always be the safest routes in and out of a community or location.
Evacuate as soon as possible to avoid traffic jams due to mass exodus. If your community has an evacuation schedule, it's best to stick to the schedule.
Follow the instructions of your local authorities, but consider that a mass exodus of your community may cause severe traffic backups.
Always plan for a complete loss of power to local infrastructure, including cell towers.
6. Practice, practice, practice
Developing a plan is only the first step. Practice is what leads to confident execution. Take the time, two or three times per year, to get the family in the car, grab your Evac Kit, and get to your place of refuge.
7. Watch the weather, know the seasons
Situational awareness is imperative. Know the seasons and likelihood of flooding for your region. Ask long time neighbors their experiences with flooding and how they reacted. Use Google to find past news articles or instances of historical flooding that impacted your area.
8. Stay prepared, stay ready
Complacency will lead to ruin. Many families impacted by natural disaster assume the events they see in the news will never happen to them. Unfortunately, this seems to be human nature. Don't assume what happens or happened to others, will not impact you.
9. Invest in flood insurance
Investing in flood insurance is the best thing you can do for your home and family. FEMA's National Flood Insurance Program can help.
10. Keep safe your vital records.
Scan and upload your vital records to the cloud using iCloud, Drop Box, Google Drive, or any other cloud accessible system that is known to be secure.
Keep a photo copy of all your vital records in your bug out bag, in a 1-gallon Ziplock bag or other sealed plastic bag.
References
1. Ajasa, Amudalat. 2023. What to know about floods as California braces for powerful storm. 03 10. Accessed 03 2023. https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2023/03/10/storm-floods-what-to-know/.
2. Diaz, Jaclyn, Giulia Heyward, and Juliana Kim. 2023. Two dead as nearly 13 inches of rain drench Central California. 03 11. Accessed 03 2023. https://www.npr.org/2023/03/10/1162525316/california-atmospheric-rivers-rainfall-snow-flash-flooding-mudslides.
3. Elassar, Alaa, Aya Elamroussi, Joe Sutton, and Cheri Mossburg. 2023. 2 dead, nearly 10,000 under evacuation orders as California floods intensify. 03 10. Accessed 03 2023. https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/10/weather/california-atmospheric-river-flood-friday/index.html.
4. FEMA. 2023. Flood Maps. Accessed 03 2023. https://www.fema.gov/flood-maps.
—. 2023. National Flood Hazard Layer. Accessed 03 2023. https://www.fema.gov/flood-maps/national-flood-hazard-layer.
—. 2023. National Flood Insurance Program. Accessed 03 2023. https://agents.floodsmart.gov/sites/default/files/fema-claims-handbook-04-2022.pdf.
5. Ready.gov. 2023. Floods. Accessed 03 2023. https://www.ready.gov/floods.
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