(WOWK) – Today marks the start of West Virginia flood resiliency week. While Storm Tracker 13 Meteorologists do not predict any flood risk over next few days now is the time to make a plan.
Resiliency means being able to bounce back after a severe weather event. By making your home more resilient you could reduce the amount of flood damage.
Like most severe weather events, the best thing you can do for flood situations is to have a plan ahead of time. Flood plans could be as simple as sending a text to family members to let them know where everyone is, or a complex as having multiple evacuation plans.
When purchasing flood insurance, it typically takes 30 days for it to go into effect, so it is something to consider given that Spring is starting to move in.
Prior to flood events it is a good idea to clean out gutters and drains. This will help reduce water damage to your home. If you are living in a flood prone area it is also a good idea to put important documents in waterproof containers and move valuables to higher levels of the house.
Click here to see your flood risk.
It is important to know the difference between a flood watch and a flood warning. To help illustrate the differences we will compare it to an event.
When a flood watch is issued it means that conditions are right for flood to possibly take place later. To compare it to a cooking situation it would be a Tuesday morning when you have all the ingredients for a taco dinner. During a watch you still have time to plan ahead of time before the event, but it is time to stay more weather aware if a flooding event takes place.
During a flood warning it means that flooding is currently happening in that area. To once again compare it to taco Tuesday a warning will be once you start cooking. Once the warning begins it will be time to act on you family’s flood plan. During a warning it will still be important to stay weather aware to know if the event intensifies or when the conditions clear up.
It is a good idea to have multiple ways to receive weather alerts during emergency situations. Some ways to receive alerts are the Storm Tracker 13 weather app, Storm Tracker 13 social media accounts, NOAA Weather Radio, and the local National Weather Service website and social media accounts.
click here to download the Storm Tracker 13 weather app
In a flood situation its best to move to higher ground and wait out the higher flood waters. It only takes 6 inches of moving water to knock a grown adult off their feet, and a foot of moving water can wash away smaller vehicles.
For more information on how to prepare for future flooding click here.
