How to stay safe in dangerous flooding

That’s exactly what happened in eastern Kentucky early Thursday morning. Torrential rain overwhelmed a river, which quickly rose beyond its banks and flooded surrounding towns, flooding houses to their roofs and killing more than a dozen people.

“This is so deadly and it hit so hard and it hit in the middle of the night,” Gov. Andy Beshear said of the disaster. Houses were “completely swept away in the middle of the night,” possibly while the occupants were sleeping.

National Weather Service forecasters issued an emergency flash flood warning — the agency’s most dire warning tool for flooding — around 1 a.m. Thursday. In many homes, the only way the alert would have come at that hour would have been a wireless emergency alert on cell phones. But they can also be closed by users.

So how do you keep yourself and your family safe when flash floods hit at night? Here is a checklist.

Know your risk

Hilltops don’t have the same risk as low-lying land near creeks, streams or rivers, so the first thing you need to do is figure out if your home is in one of these dangerous areas.

The best way to do this is to look at the flood maps yourself – these will show you what will flood when the water starts to rise.

An example of the FEMA flood map for Hazard, Kentucky. Areas colored in stripes, turquoise or orange are at risk of flooding.

Look up your address on FEMA’s flood mapping tool. Are there streaks or patches of color on your home or neighborhood? If there is, then you are at least at some level of risk. If extreme flooding occurs, there is a good chance that you will be affected.

Riskfactor.com is another tool to assess your risk and the risk of your community. He adds how scientists expect the risk to change in the coming decades. The climate crisis is increasing rainfall, which means more risk of flooding.

Be aware

Flash floods, by nature, are intense and sudden. You won’t have time to plan once a flash flood hits – so you need to know if the weather could turn bad before it does and take the forecast seriously.

How do you know when all this is happening? Meteorologists are really good at getting the word out.

Do you spend a lot of time on Twitter or Facebook? Follow your local National Weather Service office and your favorite TV meteorologist there.
Check your local forecast at weather.gov.
Watch Tv. We’re partial to CNN, of course, but local news is still one of the best ways to get weather alerts. Many stations also have their own weather apps.
Sign up for severe weather alerts through a weather app – these will include more than just the most dire warnings; you can also get personalized forecasts and notifications when meteorologists think conditions may worsen.

Understand alarm jargon: A LOOKING issued when conditions are suitable for bad weather but has not yet occurred; or WARNING! released when severe weather occurs; A eMERGENCY released when things are really, really bad.

Don’t turn off your cell phone alerts

You know them when you hear them: the emergency alert speakers that emanate from your cell phone. Tornado; flash floods; a missing child – all of which will trigger one of those wireless emergency alerts.

So don’t turn them off. They can be the only line of defense between you and the deadly weather when you’re fast asleep at 2am

Own a weather radio

You can’t watch TV or surf the web when there’s no power. You may not have a strong enough cell signal to receive the WEA alert. So when all else fails, a weather radio will ensure you get the warning.

Many of these radios are equipped with flashlights and hand cranks to keep the battery charged. Some have solar panels.

It doesn’t matter how fancy you want to be. The thing is, these devices can be programmed to wake up only when things go wrong. It’s much-needed peace of mind, especially if you’re in a high-risk area.

From CNN highlighted: The best emergency radios in 2022

Have a plan

Members of a rescue team help a family from a boat on July 28, in Quicksand, Kentucky.

You have ways of knowing if the weather might turn bad, and you’ve set up alerts to let you know when it does. But none of that matters if you don’t have a plan.

The Red Cross is a great resource. This will help you formulate the best plan and build an emergency kit or “kit” to take when you are forced to evacuate. The Red Cross also has an emergency mobile app that will send weather alerts based on zip code and help you understand potential hazards.

Here are some other tips for a flood emergency:

Keep an ax in the attic – This sounds wild, but if the water is so high that you have to go into the attic, you’re going to need a way out. And it will be straight up to the roof with an ax.

Invest in life jackets for the family — If the worst happens and you’re swept away by floodwaters, carrying a personal flotation device could be the difference between life and death.

Never drive through floodwaters — It is imperative not to get into your car in the event of a flood, especially if you do not know if your escape route is in a flood zone. Two feet of water can float a car, and 6 inches of moving water can sweep you off your feet. If you still find yourself in a car with floodwater rising around you, get out of it immediately and get to higher ground.

Be prepared to reach higher ground on foot — Driving through floodwaters is deadly, so the “on your feet” part is critical. Grab your emergency kit and get to higher ground on foot before the high water hits your doorstep. Plan where it will be ahead of time.