Big Bags USA

The term tides refers to the rising and falling of sea level with respect to land. Have you ever thought about what causes this movement of the ocean though? The answer is the gravitational pulls of the moon, sun and Earth. Due to the fact that the moon is much closer to the Earth than the sun, its gravitational pull is stronger. In today's blog, Big Bags USA® discusses how the moon affects the tides and what that means in terms of flood risk. Lunar Tides  While the moon's gravitational pull isn't strong enough to move anything on land, the same doesn't go for water. As the Earth rotates, the distance between the Earth and the moon in any particular given spot changes. That change in distance affects the amount of gravitational pull the moon has on that particular area. The moon's pull is strongest at whichever spot of Earth is closest to it, and this causes the water to bulge toward the moon. These areas where bulging occurs experience high tide, while the ...

All year long, flooding poses a threat throughout the entire United States. No matter where you live, whether it's on the coast or inland, you could be affected by flooding. The most common cause of flooding is due to water that accumulates faster than soils can absorb it or rivers can carry it away. In today's blog, Big Bags USA® briefly addresses the most common flood related hazards that impact the United States. 1. Flash Flooding Flash floods are pretty self explanatory - they're floods that happen in a flash. They generally develop within 6 hours of the immediate cause. Flash floods exhibit a rapid rise of water over low-lying areas. Flash floods are especially common in the West, and also Urban areas, where large amounts of concrete and asphalt surfaces that do not allow water to penetrate into the soil easily.    2. River Flooding  River flooding occurs when river levels rise and overflow their banks or the edges of their main channel and inundate area...

California's rainy season is upon us and that means the possibility for mudslides and mudflows. In California, the rainy season runs from late October through March. During this season, California residents face the risk of flooding and mudflows that can damage homes and businesses. Keep reading to learn more about mudflows and how to prepare for them with the help of Big Bags USA® .  What is a Mudflow?  A mudflow is a flooding condition where a river of liquid and flowing mud moves on the surface of normally dry land areas. Mudflows are different from mudslides. With a mudslide, you have a dry or wet mass of earth or rock moving downhill. While a flood may trigger a landslide, damage is caused by the falling mass of rock or earth, not the water. California Levees The state of California has thousands of miles of levee embankments along waterways, usually made of earth. These levees are designed to protect the lives and properties behind them from floods. However, ...

Flood mitigation is the effort to reduce loss of life and property by lessening the impact of flooding. In order for it to be effective, we have to take action now, before a flooding disaster occurs. Flooding can happen any place, at any time, so it's important for everyone across the country to be prepared. In today's blog, we take a look at some key points about flood mitigation from flood economics research : 1. Communities benefit from flood mitigation. Aside from the amount of money saved by taking action to prevent or reduce the effects of flooding, flood mitigation offers a variety of other benefits. Local authorities are driven to take action in order to revitalize neighborhoods, improve public spaces, enhance public safety and more! Research and analysis indicates that the economic benefits of flood mitigation significantly outweigh the costs by as much as 5:1. When broader benefits are considered, it could be even higher than that. Here is a list of common ben...