What Can Homeowners Do To Protect Themselves Against An Imminent Flood?

The steps that homeowners and business operators can take to protect themselves against imminent flooding vary depending on the following factors:

The time that is available between the warning and the onset of flooding. Longer warning times, up to about 8 hours, enable greater reduction of damages. More than 8 hours warning time produces only slightly greater reduction of damages in most cases.

Availability of accurate information on the eventual height of flood waters. This may make the difference between raising furniture a foot or two, moving it the second floor, or moving everything out of the house to a safe area.

• Ability, strength, know-how, or availability of appropriate assistance
• Preparations that have been made in advance to facilitate evacuation and protection of property.
• The general approach in most cases should be to :
• Decide whether to simply raise contents, move them upstairs, or remove them from the site of flooding
• If moving contents out, arrange a secure storage place and necessary transportation and helpers

Owners should prioritise the value of their property:

• Items that are essential to living, such as medical equipment/medicine
• Items that cannot be replaced such as heirlooms or photographs Important business/tax papers
• High value small items, such as art, furs, jewellery, and electronics
• Removing carpets (to ease cleanup as well as salvage them)
• Appliances
• Furniture/drapes/beds and bedding
• Food/miscellaneous

Owners should also:

• Remove or leave open all drawers, cabinet doors and room doors (they swell and stick shut).
• Turn off gas and electricity to make building safe against fire and explosion
• Turn off water to help prevent loss of pressure in the system.
• Remove boiler and gas burners to prevent clogging by sediment.
• For all immovable items:
• Unplug or disconnect any gas or electric lines
• If possible, wrap items in plastic to prevent water/sediment infiltration
• Remove motors from equipment that can't be moved (i.e. boilers).
• Unplug and wrap in plastic any appliances that can't be moved to keep out water/sediment and make cleanup easier
• Disconnect gas lines to dryers and refrigerators to prevent breakage if the appliance begins to float.
• Tie to a tree or other fixed object any unanchored propane or other kinds of tanks. If tank can be opened safely, fill it with water to prevent flotation
• If additional time is available and electrical power is disconnected, remove wall receptacles to prevent situation. This will enable faster restoration of power after floodwaters recede
• Evacuate or raise the supplies and equipment that will be needed for clean up such as mops, hoses, gloves, boots, detergents, lubricants, etc.   

How Can Homeowners Protect Themselves From Future Floods?

Home and business owners can protect themselves from future floods or reduce the effect of future floods by various means including:

• Elevating the structure 
• Flood proofing the structure
• Surrounding the structure with a small wall or embankment
• Facilitating future evacuations
• Investigating means of reducing or eliminating future flooding by employing a specialist Consultant such as Johnston Smith Consulting