“For forty days the flood kept coming on the earth, and as the waters increased they lifted the ark high above the earth.” Genesis 7:17
We’ve experienced a lot of rain this year, but it has not approached Biblical proportions. God did, after all, promise not to do it again. Still, there is a danger with an excess of water. Floods are the most common natural disaster in the United States. Failing to evacuate flooded areas, entering flood waters, or remaining after a flood has passed can result in injury or death. Some tips from the Department of Homeland Security website:
IF YOU ARE UNDER A FLOOD WARNING, FIND SAFE SHELTER RIGHT AWAY
HOW TO STAY SAFE WHEN A FLOOD THREATENS
Prepare NOW
Know types of flood risk in your area. Visit FEMA’s Flood Map Service Center for information.
Sign up for your community’s warning system.
If flash flooding is a risk in your location, then monitor potential signs. Learn and practice evacuation routes, shelter plans, and flash flood response.
Gather supplies for evacuation or if services are cut off.
Survive DURING
Depending on where you are, and the impact and the warning time of flooding, go to the safe location that you previously identified.
If told to evacuate, do so immediately. Never drive around barricades.
Listen to EAS, NOAA Weather Radio, or local alerting systems for current emergency information and instructions.
Do not walk, swim, or drive through flood waters.
Turn Around. Don’t Drown!
Stay off bridges over fast-moving water.
If your vehicle is trapped in rapidly moving water, then stay inside. If water is rising inside the vehicle, then seek refuge on the roof.
If trapped in a building, then go to its highest level. Do not climb into a closed attic.
Be Safe AFTER
Listen to authorities for information and instructions. Return home only when authorities say it is safe.
Avoid driving, except in emergencies.
Snakes and other animals may be in your house. Wear heavy gloves and boots during clean up.
Be aware of the risk of electrocution.
Avoid wading in floodwater, which can contain dangerous debris and be contaminated.
Use a generator or other gasoline-powered machinery ONLY outdoors and away from windows.
Courtesy of Lutheran Church Missouri Synod – Pacific Southwest District
