Flood Safety Overview
NOAA/National Weather Service
Quad Cities, Iowa/Illinois
NOAA/National Weather Service
Quad Cities, Iowa/Illinois
What does regret sound like?
Consider the real-life story of a young man driving home from work in 2002. The man was tired from a long day at work. He had picked up his children and was heading home.
Heavy rains that day caused widespread flooding. He approached a low water crossing—one he had crossed countless times before—flooded with the recent rains. To go another way would have meant another 20 minutes in the car. He chose to drive across. After all, his 4 wheel drive pickup could surely navigate a water crossing he had taken many times before.
His truck was swept away by the swift water. The water carried him and his family downstream. The man survived but his two children, age 3 years and 13 months, did not.
What is 20 minutes to that man now, and what would he give to have that choice again? If you ask him what choice he would make if had the same opportunity, do you think you would hear what regret sounds like?
Flooding is dangerous, and we hope the information we present during Flood Safety Awareness Week will help you make the right choice when you encounter flooding.
Why Flood Safety Awareness Week?
The answer is simple. Flooding is the #1 storm-related killer—not tornadoes, not severe thunderstorms, not winter storms. It ranks only behind heat waves in number of casualties for all weather events. Flooding also takes many different forms, from river flooding to flash flooding to snowmelt flooding. It occurs in any month of the year, any time of day. It is a threat in almost any place.
More than half of all flood-related deaths are drownings that result from vehicles caught in flood waters and then swept downstream. Eighty percent of all flood deaths occur when people drive into flooded roadways or simply walk through moving water. Many of these drownings are preventable if people do not drive or walk into flooded roads, sidewalks, etc. People often underestimate the force of water.
But, flooding doesn’t happen very often. That’s why it’s important to know how to find important information, how to prepare for potential flooding, where to obtain flood insurance—if it is required in your area, and general safety tips to help keep you, your family and your property safe.
Hopefully, flooding will never affect you. But if it does, we want you to be prepared for whatever comes your way.
Topics Covered during Flood Safety Awareness Week
AHPS provides long-range river forecasts in addition to the five-day river forecasts you have always seen. The AHPS forecasts include the Spring Flood and Water Resources Outlook, formerly known as the Snowmelt Flood Outlook, normally issued early in the spring of each year. Although the AHPS forecasts are available on both our Web site and in text format over the weather wire, our Web site provides more detailed information.
Do you know that more than half of all flood-related deaths are drownings that result from vehicles caught in flood waters and then swept downstream? Many of these drownings are preventable if people do not drive or walk into flooded roads, sidewalks, etc. People often underestimate the force of water. Most vehicles lose contact with the road in six inches of water and can be swept away in 18 to 24 inches of water. Remember, when approaching a flooded roadway, Turn Around Don’t Drown!
A variety of flooding and related phenomena threaten life and property in all 50 states and territories throughout the entire year. Some of the flooding types in our area include flash flooding, river flooding and overland flooding which result from heavy rain, snow melt and ice jams.
Do you know that flood losses are typically not covered in homeowners’ insurance policies? Nearly everyone is at risk of experiencing damage from flooding. According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), everyone lives in a flood zone. It’s just a question of whether you live in a low, moderate or high risk area. Flood insurance is available, however, to help you insure your property against flood losses.
If you know what to do before, during and after a flood you can increase your chances of surviving a flood. We at the National Weather Service cooperate with other government agencies and private companies to inform you how to become aware of the flood risks in your area and then react properly when a flood threatens you.
When it comes to flooded areas or high water, Turn Around Don’t Drown!
How Do We Help Protect You from the Dangers of Flooding?
We at the National Weather Service can help protect you by improving our flood forecasts and warnings. Dr. Thomas Graziano, Acting Chief of Hydrologic Services for the National Weather Service, stated:
From ice jams to rapidly melting snow to torrential thunderstorms to slow-moving tropical storms, floods can be a threat throughout the year. Extensive and persistent public education on the hazards of flooding is key to reducing the loss of life and property . . . .
We also work our hydrologic partners to educate and inform you. Our partners include:
The COE is part of the U.S. Government. The COE is responsible for three major areas:
1. Navigation, Flood Control, Environmental Protection and Disaster Response. This includes planning, designing, building and operating water resources and other civil works projects. In our area, these activities include operating the Locks and Dams on the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers as well as flood control on many rivers.
2. Military Construction which includes designing and managing the construction of military facilities for the Army and Air Force.
3. Interagency and International Services which includes providing design and construction management support for other Defense and Federal Government agencies.
We at the National Weather Service in the Quad Cities primarily cooperate with the COE in the Navigation, Flood Control, Environmental Protection and Disaster Response area. We also cooperate primarily with one COE district office: the Rock Island District Office located in Rock Island, Illinois.
The USGS is also part of the U.S. Government. It is a multi-disciplinary science organization that focuses on five major areas:
1. Water which includes establishment, operation and maintenance of stream gauges, including analysis and recordkeeping of the stream gauging records.
2. Geospatial Information which includes Geographic Information Systems (GIS).
3. Geography.
4. Geology.
5. Biology.
Please note that many of the stream gauges in existence in our region are funded jointly between the USGS and other cooperators. These cooperators include other Federal, state, county and city government agencies as well as private companies and private individuals. The number of cooperators and the amount of funding they provide varies widely between stream gauges. The USGS is not the primary funding source for many of the stream gauges.
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