When you have been warned flooding may be on the way prepare. As Soon As Possible:
1. Move extra vehicles to higher ground.
2. Fuel up your evacuation vehicle(s).
3. Prepare your Five-Day Kits and make sure that everything is ready to go. Every member of your family should have their own kit.
4. Review evacuation plan with family.
5. Notify out of area contact of your plans.
6. Move your furniture and anything that you don’t want to be ruined by the water to an upper floor or top shelves of cupboards and top of kitchen island or counters.
For furniture that can not be moved place the legs of furniture in pots, cans (number 10
cans are great), or other water proof containers. Legs will be protected until the water
reaches the height of the container. Will not protect against catastrophic flooding but it
will if the flooding in your home is only a few inches.
7. Move outdoor furniture, planters etc. into the garage.
8. Fill pots, water pitchers, picnic juice coolers, and sanitized sinks and bathtubs with water.
After a flood, water from the tap may not be safe to drink for several days. You should
be storing water in case of an emergency. Now is the time to move that to a higher
safer location inside your home. Move some water to the attic in case you are caught
without warning and need to evacuate to the roof.
9. If you have not already done so, place in the attic an ax and a backpack. The backpack
should contain food that does not need to be cooked, dry clothing, wool blankets, safety
vests, rain poncho, flashlight, portable radio and safety glow sticks. If you should need
to evacuate to the roof, it is better to cut a hole in the roof rather than to crawl out a
window and get wet, or be swept away in a current. Your goal is always to remain dry.
Leave these supplies in the attic year round and you will always be ready for a surprise
or middle of the night flooding emergency.
10.Load photos, heirlooms and other valuable items into the car, along with the family Five
day kits and medications. Be sure you add important documents to your kit now; don’t
wait for an emergency. Make sure you also have maps and your car cell phone charger
in the car. Fill the gas tank so you are ready to go at a moment’s notice.
11. Test generator.
12. Take up rugs. They will be destroyed if not dried out in one to two days if left on the floor. To save them roll up and move to attic.
13. Place most valuable tools on top shelf of the shelves in the garage.
14. Place sandbags in front of doors, around basement windows, in front of garage and in any other locations that may be vulnerable.
15. Monitor emergency radio and/or TV stations.
16. Monitor your HAM radio.
17. Cover foundation vents.
18. Cover window wells.
19. Before evacuating turn off power to house.
20. Before evacuating turn off natural gas or propane.
21. Gather animals in one room where they will be easy to grab if you need to evacuate.
22. When told to evacuate, leave. Do not drive at night. You will not be able to adequately judge the depth of water. Leave during the day.