Flash flooding safety

When waters are rising fast, it is essential to know how to avoid flash flooding and stay safe.

Transcript

00:00It can happen anytime, anywhere in summer, especially as we get these true soaking thunderstorms

00:05that can line up and create huge problems. Flooding, it happens quickly too, by the way.

00:10The water rises fast. So when we talk about flash flooding, it is the number one storm-related

00:15killer in the U.S. And a lot of the deaths, half of them just about, come from people trying to

00:20drive through flooded waters. Obviously, there are a lot of challenges when it comes to flooding

00:24in many ways that people can die. But a lot of people are trying to get in their car. So before

00:28you assess anything throughout summer, make sure you know the risk of your home, whether

00:34your elevation is near or at flood stage, how high or low are you compared to the ground

00:39around you. Also understand that for your work or school, wherever you frequent too, so that

00:44you would get an idea of what would happen there if you are caught with a lot of rising

00:49water quickly. Remember, it only takes a couple inches, right? Six inches can knock you off

00:53your feet. Twelve inches can carry away a lot of the cars that we drive. And 24 inches can

00:58carry away things like box trucks. So you do want to make sure that you're being extra cautious

01:02because it really doesn't mean much water. And when it is raining at night, flooding can be almost

01:07impossible to see, right? You already have the puddles and some ponding on the roadways. How deep is it?

01:12It gets very deep very quickly. So that's another thing. On your drives that you frequent, whether

01:17it's to or from work or school, make sure you know the high and low points of those drives, where

01:21you're more at risk to find flooding on the roadways than in other spots. That will be at least

01:26helpful, especially if you ever end up driving those roads in the dark. And then, of course,

01:30as we talk about some of the risks that are in floodwaters, we know there's electrical hazards,

01:35contaminated water that can lead to bacterial infections. And it can also create a lot of

01:39structural damage like you've seen in West Virginia this weekend. But mold and mildew can grow within

01:44the hours to days after the event. So that can be another hidden danger post-flood.