How to protect your home when a flood arrives
How to protect your home when a flood arrives
Strong storms and high winds often cause flooding, even in areas that are not prone to such an event. 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.
Owing to the uncertain occurrence of these acts of God, you must undertake a number of measures to prevent your house from being affected with flash floods.
Make sure the water does not break in your house.
If you are living in a flood prone area, or anticipating severe rains and storms, covering the doors and windows with sandbags, plywood or metal sheets is highly recommended. It is beneficial to use silicone sealant as it prevents water from entering your house. 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.
The main supply for water, electricity and gas should be shut down at once. You should also remember to unplug all your electrical appliances and store them at high places, on the second floor, if possible. The water may enter into your home in spite of you being very careful, and although the water level normally increases some feet this may not be up to up to the second floor of your house so that it is dry and any items left there will be intact.
It is important to be mindful of furniture and appliances.
You need to ensure that your valuable furniture and appliances are kept on high areas or upstairs.
If space or storage does not permit, raise all these goods onto stacks of bricks, clear off the ground. Fold up carpets and curtains and store them away, you could even detach internal doors and keep them upstairs!.
Store them all in high places to ensure that they are protected from water.
Photos, documents and personal things that are important and cannot be replaced must be placed at height or on the second floor if available. Again, make sure to use waterproof containers like food storage containers to store away these. 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. Besides, keep all your important items in a locked room or building (a garage) to prevent them from floating away. Wheelbarrow should also be kept in a garage, else it can also float away.
Listen carefully for flood warnings, there some steps you need to take on hearing such an announcement.
Correct information is vital in such circumstances.
Keep yourself glued to your radio sets so that you do not miss out on any important announcements. Be supportive of the emergency crews and local authorities, give them all your cooperation. The authorities might ask you to evacuate, in such a case you should follow their orders immediately as it is for your own good only.
Try to finish up your work during the daytime as electricity is usually not available in such conditions. When it is dark, it is not easy or safe to carry out these tasks. Torch batteries must be kept handy and in known places ready for an emergency.
Share the information with your neighbors, particularly the old people, so that they can also prepare themselves.
Until the time to move stay in your house safely. Any attempt to leave your house can prove deadly, especially when it is raging during floods. 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.
Keep your pets and automobiles in secure areas. When a flood announcement is made, you must move upstairs to the highest floor of your house. Do not attempt to swim through a flood when it is raging, as there may be items suspended in the water. It could either sweep you along with the water-current or hurt you by crashing into the objects in the water.
You can also catch certain infectious diseases if you try to swim as the flood water is highly contaminated. It would indeed be a pity to survive a serious event such as a flood, only to fall ill from contact with polluted water. Avoid visiting places like sea defenses, riverbanks and bridges in floods as these can be very risky areas. Cases of floodwater demolishing or bringing down bridges and defenses are frequently recorded.