Have a Flood Preparation Plan

BE READY!

With the Spring flooding season rapidly approaching, we want to continue to provide some helpful information to help protect your property, business, or family.  The Big Bags USA team found a great resource at the Iowa Water Conference - Iowa Flood Response Toolkit.  Here is a link to the full kit - http://www.iowafloods.org.  See below for some content available in the Toolkit!




Iowa flooding in 2008

 

Flood Response Stages 


Being prepared for a flood starts with planning.  The ongoing process of flood mitigation begins with the pre-flood activities of recognizing flood hazards. Once they are determined, training and public outreach aids in the planning for flood events.  At the flood watch stage, an initial public notice should go out and community checks for readiness should occur.Once a flood warning is declared, there is a greater level of urgency.  More critical decisions must be made, such as the need for emergency alerts and the issuance of evacuation orders.  The focus shifts to tracking and managing emergency response and communications during the actual flood event.  Lastly, the post-flood activities include public assistance, cleanup, rebuilding and an evaluation of how the event was handled.  Lessons learned can then be applied to improve the process for future flood events.

Everyone Needs a Flood Emergency Response Plan

Planning for emergencies ensures that emergency services, local authorities, state and Federal agencies and other organizations better communicate and coordinate efforts, thus improving the effectiveness of the overall disaster response and reducing the level of effort required during the post-disaster recovery.  This ensures that duplication of tasks will not occur resulting in the unnecessary deployment of additional resources and that gaps such as no one taking action are also avoided. Having a flood emergency response plan ensures that the experience and lessons learned during previous flood events are preserved and can be utilized in planning for future events.  It's possible that your flood emergency response plan is part of a larger-scale, multi-hazard plan that addresses a variety of emergency situations that could occur within the community.    
   

What information should be covered in a Flood Emergency Plan? 

A Flood Emergency Plan (FEP) outlines the roles and responsibilities of all parties involved, actions to be taken, coordination arrangements and communication channels to be used prior to, during and after a flood event.  By planning for flood emergencies, the risk to health and life and the damage caused by flooding is reduced.  Local plans should describe how flood hazard threats are identified. Specifically the plan should include: 
  • Areas likely to flood and the extent and depth of flooding
  • Frequency of occurrence (both historical and predicted or probable)   
  • Magnitude and intensity duration, seasonal pattern, speed of onset
  • Location of critical infrastructure at risk
  • Spatial extent (either around the known location of the hazard or as an estimate for non-localized hazards)
  • The location of flood defense resources (equipment, sandbags, etc.) 
  • Traffic and evacuation routes and corridors
  • Warning mechanisms

The FEMA website has an Emergency Response Plan Template available.

Big Bags USA helping a community prepare for a flood

Long-Term Preparedness 

Once the types of risks are identified, there are multiple measures to mitigate flooding damages. They all have advantages and disadvantages.  Below are some examples of possible mitigation tools: 

Prevention
  • Planning and Zoning
  • Open Space Preservation
  • Floodplain development regulations 
  • Storm water management 
  • Drainage system maintenance
Property Protection
  • Acquisition
  • Relocation
  • Building Elevation 
  • Dry and Wet Floodproofing
  • Sewer Backup Protection
  • Flood Insurance
Emergency Services
  • Flood Warning 
  • Flood Response
  • Critical Facility Protection 
  • Health and Safety Maintenance
Structural Project
  • Reservoirs 
  • Levees/Floodwalls
  • Enlarging culverts or bridge openings
  • Diversions
  • Storm Sewer
Public Information
  • Outreach Projects 
  • Real Estate Disclosure 
  • Library
  • Technical Assistance
  • Environmental Education
  • Web based information and social media tools 

Please let us know if we can help you in your flood preparation planning!

If you have an immediate need for our systems, or have any questions for us, please call at (573) 480-6699 or visit www.BigBagsUSA.com.


D.R.I.P.S.
Disaster Relief & Innovative
Protection Systems, LLC
(573) 480-6699

Let's Connect!

ALWAYS READY TO HELP LOCAL, STATE, & FEDERAL AGENCIES ... BE PREPARED! 

Location: Camdenton, MO 65020, USA

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