Flooding can be very dangerous and do severe damage to your home. If you live in an area that is prone to heavy storms and flooding, you should have a flood plan in place to keep yourself and your family safe. This plan can also help you avoid as much destruction to your home as possible.
Why It’s Important for You to Have a Flood Plan
Flood waters are known to do severe damage to homes such as destroy the foundation, ruin furniture, flooring, and cause mold spores to form. If you have a solid flood plan in order, then you can take the steps to ensure that your home will be as safe as possible during the flood season. This will not only save you money, but it can also help save your home from destruction.
What Should Be in a Flood Plan?
A flood plan can help you save time when the event is happening and you must evacuate quickly. It can also guarantee that your cherished belongings, important documents, and other personal items are safe.
Related Article: “Crucial Tips For Flood Preparedness”
Your flood plan should include information about how to find out when a flood is heading your way, where your family Go-Kit is located, current evacuation orders for your area, details about access roads that you can use while evacuating, and steps to take to prepare your property for a flood.
What is a Family Go-Kit?
Your Go-Kit is simply a supply kit that you can easily grab and go with when it is time to evacuate. It could be a safe box, a backpack, or any other container that is easy to transport. Some items that you should include in your family go-kit include:
- A fully-stocked first aid kit
- 3-day supply of non-perishable food items
- Bottled water
- Battery-powered or hand crank radio
- Flashlight and extra batteries
- A change of clothing
- Blankets
- Hygiene and sanitation items
- Rain jacket or poncho
Amazon Prime: Perfect Go-Kit With Everything You Need
How Can I Find Out About Access Roads and Evacuation Orders?
Most flood-related fatalities often occur in cars when they become trapped on flooded roads. Be sure to talk to others in the community, emergency officials, or local police to learn which access roads from your home are best to take when evacuating. Try out these routes beforehand so that you will be familiar with them, and learn about alternate routes as well.
Suggested Article: “How to Survive When Your Vehicle is Under Water”
Your local authorities will also inform you of evacuation orders and what you should do so that you can leave the area safely. Be sure to follow all orders to prevent emergency personnel from having to return to the area for a rescue.
How Can I Prepare My Property for a Flood?
There are several things that you can do to protect your home from a flood.
- Make sure that all electrical systems are safe by raising switches, sockets, and circuit breakers. You may want to raise your wiring above the area flood level by around a foot. You should modify any anchored indoor equipment such as a water heater or furnace above your property’s flood level.
- Anchoring and raising your outdoor equipment such as fuel tanks, air conditioning units, and supply lines can also be helpful.
- You should also look at the flow of water to and from your home by analyzing the grading or slope. This will show you how water flows to or away from your home. It is best if your home was built so that the water drains away from it. If not, you can have gate valves installed that automatically allow water to flow out and close any time water attempts to get inside.
- If the previous ideas are not an option, your last resort would be creating a barrier around your home with a flood barrier. You can use simple things like sandbags or more elaborate items like a quick dam water barrier.
By following these and other steps provided by your local authorities and experts, you can improve the chances of your home surviving a serious flood season. You can also get information about keeping your home safe from flood water by contacting your homeowner’s insurance provider.
