Jun 18 2008
What to do in a flood
The situation in the Midwest has had me researching the best ways to cope with flooding. The best suggestions I’ve found:
1. Carry flood insurance. Floods are not covered under your regular home-owners’ or renters’ policy.
2. Sand-bags, all in all, seem to be pretty useless. Most sources agree that getting yourself and your stuff out of harm’s way is a better use of your energy.
3. This is not a situation where bugging in is appropriate. If there is an evacuation order for flooding, get your family out of the area as quickly as possible. Since you keep a bug out bag by the door, you can do this on short notice, right?
4. Anything you can’t take with you, get it up as high in your house as you can. Put it in the attic or second story if you have one, on counters if you don’t. Flood waters may go higher than you can get your stuff, but it’s a chance to save something.
5. Don’t wade in flood waters without proper protection. All sorts of dangerous stuff, from sharp objects to angry animals to harmful bacteria can be lurking under the surface.
4 Responses to “What to do in a flood”
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You could have posted this a couple weeks ago for us in the Lake Michigan area that got hit. Good article that everyone should read.
You always see people letting their kids play in flood waters. When we were kids in Virginia, we were not allowed to way back when. We put a rubber raft in the flooded streets and got to explore that way.
My sister couldn’t even get home one of the nights Indiana flooded
Luckily, the flood waters didn’t reach her house, but they were a half-mile away from it, so close call!
@Blondiewrites:
Sadly, you’ll probably get another opportunity to put the advice in action. Between more severe weather patterns and landscapes that have been made more prone to flooding through human interference, floods are events that many of us can expect to see more of.