FEMA's Flooding Safety Tips

The Federal Emergency Management Agency offers the following advice for emergency preparedness for a flood:

• If doing construction on your home, avoid building in floodprone areas "unless you elevate and reinforce your home."
• If your home is suceptible to flooding, "elevate the furnace, water heater, and electric panel."
• To prevent floodwater from clogging your drains, "install 'check valves' in sewer traps."
• Call local officials to see if they plan to contruct levees, beams, floodwalls or other barriers to block out floodwater from residential areas in the event of a flood.
• To avoid flooding in your basement, seal all of the walls.

More tips on flood-proofing your home are available online.

If there are reports of the likelihood of a flood in your town, FEMA advises the public to do the following:

• Check your local media for information (web publications, television and radio).
• In the event of a flash flood, move immediately to higher ground. Do not wait for instructions to move.
• Be aware of the terrain near you and any "streams, drainage channels, canyons, and other areas known to flood suddenly." Flash floods may happen without warning like "rain clouds or heavy rain" in those areas.

If you have to evacuate your home, FEMA suggests you do the following:

• Secure your home by bringing in outdoor furnature and moving essential items to the upper floor.
• Turn off your main electrical switches or valves if instructed to do so and disconnect your electrical appliances. However, if you are wet or standing in water, do not touch any electrical equipment.

FEMA offers the following evacuation tips:

• Just six inches of moving water can make you fall, so do not try to walk through it. If walking through water is necessary, do so where water is not moving and use a stick to "check the firmness of the ground in front of you."
• Avoid driving through flooded areas. Abandon your car and move to higher ground if "floodwaters rise around your car" and you can do so safely.  Otherwise, both you and your vehicle could be "quickly swept away" in the floodwaters. 

FEMA's driving flood facts:

• Six inches of water can cause "loss of control," "possible stalling" and "reach the bottoms of most passenger cars."
• A foot of water will cause most vehicles to float.
• "Two feet of rushing water can carry away most vehicles, including sport utility vehicles (SUV’s) and pick-ups."

When flooding is over, FEMA advises the following:

• Find out if your town's water supply is still safe by listening to the news.
• Avoid any more floodwaters because the water may be "contaminated by oil, gasoline, or raw sewage. Water may also be electrically charged from underground or downed power lines."
  
  
• "Avoid moving water."
  
  
• The flooding may have weakened roads, which could cause them to collapse under the weight of a car, so be aware of areas where floodwater has receded.
• Stay away from any downed power lines, and report them to Connecticut Light and Power (1-800-286-2000), or your local police (860-409-4200) or fire department (860-409-4390).
  
  
• Wait until local authorities indicate it is safe to return home.
  
  
• Stay out buildings surrounded by floodwaters.
  
  
• Be cautious when entering buildings because there may be "hidden damage, particularly in foundations."
  
  
• Repair any "damaged septic tanks, cesspools, pits and leaching systems as soon as possible" because damaged sewage systems are health hazards.
  
  
• Clean and disinfect anything in your home that got wet because mud left behind from floodwater "can contain sewage and chemicals."