Flood Safety Awareness Week

The National Weather Service is launching Flood Safety Awareness Week this week. So, I thought it would be a good idea to go over some flood safety tips for this post!

First, you should know what the difference is in all the flood watches and warnings that get issued across the region.

Flash Flood Warning: A Flash Flood Warning is issued when a flash flood is imminent or occurring. If you are in a flood prone area move immediately to high ground. A flash flood is a sudden violent flood that can take from minutes to hours to develop. It is even possible to experience a flash flood in areas not immediately receiving rain.

Flood Warning: A Flood Warning is issued when the hazardous weather event is imminent or already happening. A Flood Warning is issued when flooding is imminent or occurring.

Flood Watch: A Flood Watch is issued when conditions are favorable for a specific hazardous weather event to occur. A Flood Watch is issued when conditions are favorable for flooding. It does not mean flooding will occur, but it is possible.

Flood Advisory: An Flood Advisory is issued when a specific weather event that is forecast to occur may become a nuisance. A Flood Advisory is issued when flooding is not expected to be bad enough to issue a warning. However, it may cause significant inconvenience, and if caution is not exercised, it could lead to situations that may threaten life and/or property.

Before a flood, be sure to have a plan in place. You know exactly where to go and what to do for a tornado warning, so be sure you have a course of action for flooding. During flooding, implement the plan and try to take to higher ground if it is safe to do so. After the flooding has passed, be sure to adhere to all road closures and disaster areas.

To learn more about flood safety, visit this National Weather Service site.