Posted by When heavy rain falls quickly, fast-moving water can flood homes and basements, wash over cars, and knock people off their feet. Flash flood often catch people off guard. Flash floods can happen quickly, within hours or even minutes.
Experts say that even though flash floods are dangerous, you have a better chance of staying alive if you stay aware and have a plan. Here’s what you can do beforehand and in the moment to keep safe during a flash flood.
Stay alert
If a storm is coming or is already happening, listen to your phone, radio, or TV for weather warnings. A radio that runs on batteries can be helpful if the power goes out.
Be ready to leave your home
If you have to leave your home, put your driver’s license, credit cards, medicines, and important papers that aren’t already in your go bag in a waterproof pouch or a freezer bag made of plastic. Make sure your phone is charged, and if you have time, unplug small appliances so they don’t get fried by electrical surges. Move important things to a higher floor if you can.
If you live in a basement flat, you should pay extra attention to storms. Whenever you think you might be in danger, move to a higher floor or leave the building immediately. You shouldn’t enter a closed attic because rising floods could trap you. If you have to, climb up on the roof.
You must move quickly if the worst happens and water rushes into your house. Don’t wait, don’t grab anything, just get out. If you can’t get out, you can only hope the water doesn’t fill the house completely.
Paying close attention to reports is important because things can change quickly. If you are told to leave, you should leave. Check the navigation apps to see if any roads are closed before you leave. If a road is flooded, take a different path.
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Stay away from the flash flood
The best thing to do is to avoid floods as much as possible. Six inches of fast-moving water is enough to knock you off your feet, so it’s usually best to stay where you are unless you’re told to leave.
The most immediate risk of going into floodwaters is drowning. Still, you may also be exposed to things like human, animal, and industrial waste, cars, lumber, and other debris, stray animals like rats and snakes, and downed power lines.
If you’re in a car
When you’re out and about, flash floods can happen and put you in a situation where your life is in danger. Almost half of the deaths from flash floods are caused by cars. So don’t drive into a flooded street.
Not only is it hard to tell how deep the water is and how bad the roads are, but just 12 inches of water can float your car, and 18 inches can carry off your SUV or pickup truck. Everyone tends to underestimate how strong water is. It only takes a small amount of current to cause trouble.
If floodwaters drown your car, roll down your windows first. If they won’t move, break the glass with an escape tool or use the metal pole of your headrest as a ram. It is important to open the windows. If the water keeps rising, that car will fill up and become more of a rock than a bobber floating downstream.
Take off your seatbelt and hold it as you climb onto the roof and call for the authorities. Try as hard as possible to stay with the car until help comes. Lay down on the roof to stay steady, and don’t tie yourself to the car in case it rolls.
People are much more likely to live if they stay with their cars than if they leave them. This is because it’s easier for emergency services to find a car than a person. You can also turn on your warning lights, set off your car’s alarm with your key fob, and, if possible, honk the horn to make yourself more visible.
If you’re walking, hiking, or camping
If you are walking and caught in a flash flood, you should run perpendicular to the water and reach the highest point possible. This could mean running into the nearest building, racing up the stairs, climbing a tree, or jumping onto a truck. The bigger and heavier the item, the better because it won’t float away as easily.
Don’t stand up if you get carried away because you could get your foot stuck in a drain, fence, or something else. Instead, swim against the current, like in a rip tide, until you reach safety. This is very hard, even for strong swimmers, because you’ll have to fight against drainages, debris, and the water. You must know that most people who lose their footing in a flash flood don’t get out.
Before camping or hiking, look up the weather trends and forecasts for the area. If it might rain upstream of where you are going, camp above any rivers instead of next to them. Once water starts to rise where you are, get to higher ground as soon as possible.
If you’re on an underground train
The underground train is the last place you want to be during a flash flood. Because, in the end, if the storm drains are full, the water has nowhere else to go. In other words, avoiding it is the best way to protect yourself.
If you are underground during a flood, you should leave the station as soon as possible, even if it means pushing your way up wet stairs. When you’re on a stuck train, you shouldn’t get off until you’re told to.
Anisa is a writer who focuses on career and lifestyle topics in an effort to motivate both job searchers and employers towards greater fulfillment in their professional lives.
Reach me at anisa@jobstore.com.