Spring is fast approaching and with it the very real danger in my area of flooding, esp flash flooding. DS gets REALLY nervous when it rains, storms, or floods are predicted. I have talked to him about it, realistically. We can't stop the rain, we can't stop the waters from rising, but what we CAN do is be more prepared. I'd like him to help us do just that.

Now, along the lines of being realistic, here's our situation. A small river (by virtue of it's length only, it is only about 20 to 30 feet wide at most) runs directly behind the house, a drainage ditch/stream runs along the length of the property roughly perpendicular to the river. Now, that said, the house sits up high. When we built it, for the purposes of getting cheaper flood insurance, we built so that the crawl space has proper flood vents, and our living space is elevated to be 1 foot above the 100 year Base Flood Elevation. The property has been in DW's family since the 70's, and even in some of the worst floods since then there has never been a significant amount of flooding, just a little water in the crawl space of the old house. The way the newer house is elevated now, water would have to rise enough to completely cover the road before it could even reach our living space. I know it MIGHT be possible, but very improbable given we are in one of the high spots along the flood plain. Long story short, we'll most likely not see water up high enough to get in the house. I also know rising water isn't our only concern, but I'd like to concentrate just on the flooding possibility.

I have of course visited a few websites such as the red cross and the National Flood Insurance Program site. There are plenty of others with plenty of lists.

Now, here's where I need your help and input. Besides the basics that are on these lists, what else can we do to be more prepared for flooding? Short of a truckload of sand and sandbags, I don't want to get too carried away. What supplies should we have on hand? What plans should we have in place? Should we have a bug-out plan in case the unthinkable happens, and the gound/foundation starts to give way and the house becomes unsafe? This is problematic in and of itself, as there is high ground across the road which leads uphill, but this takes us immediately parallel to the small stream/drainage ditch i mentioned. We could go up or down the road but that takes us parallel to the river, as well as the probable event of running into lower spots where we would be unable to pass due to high waters coming over the road. The only reason I would even think about doing this would be to get to a more suitable place to get to higher ground. A bug out plan, in my mind, would be unsafe and an absolute last resort, but I'm wondering if we should still have a plan in place? Any other suggestions or resources? All input is welcomed and appreciated.

I guess my first question is an overly simple one: is your concept to stay in the house during the flood, or bug out early and let the house tend to itself during the flood, while you and family are safe and sound somewhere else?

It sort of sounds like you feel reasonably "safe" to stay in the house, at least for a while. But you point out, due to the drainage ditch, it might be bad to try and get out if you wait too long.

I think that you need to set a point, a safe a secure bug out point, by looking at your escape route, that when the water reaches here, we bug out now!

In my thinking, no matter how secure the house is, if the flood is so high that it is unsafe to leave, you stayed too long. Junk floating down on the flood could destroy the foundation of the house even if you are actually above the water itself.

Seems to me the best policy is to get while you can, and hope to come back to an intact house.

One thing to think about in your planning is the immense power of moving water. Even though the water level may not reach above the top of your foundation, if that water is moving at any speed it can easily erode the support out from under your house. Never underestimate the power of moving water! Check out this scary video!

Likewise, you might run into trouble if you try to evacuate after the water is across the road, even if it seems shallow enough to drive through. Lots of people have died trying to drive through moving water that seemed shallow enough to ford.

You might want to do some research into how fast water is moving when your river and ditch are in flood stage. If there are any gauging stations anywhere along the river, find out what the discharge is at flood stage. Also, talk to any old timers around. And look into the history of the area. You want to get an idea of what was the worst flow that has ever occured in the area, even before your familly owned the property. The "hundred year" flood plain is often just an educated guess by hydrologists. Hydrologists do the best they can with the data they have available, but always assume those estimates could be wrong. Allow yourself a margin of error!

I would certainly want to find out more about past floods (historian and archaeologist speaking, so you might expect that). That knowledge will be very useful in developing your plans. But history is not an infallible guide to the future. What is the size and extent of your watershed? What development has occurred within that watershed and how might it affect future flooding? I would certainly agree that " Lots of people have died trying to drive through moving water that seemed shallow enough to ford" - that was a frequent occurrence in SAR operations in Southern Arizona. Typically victims drove around plainly marked barricades. The more I have seen of flooding, the more respect I have.

bws48, yes my general line of thinking is to stay put, even in the worst historical floods any of the old timers in our community here can remember, the water has not been high enough to cause any real danger, even to the old home that was here before, and I do mean old. The front part of the old house that DW grew up in was an old log-cabin made from hand hewn logs and built in approximately the 1800's. When we inherited the property after her father died in 1998, we tried to look into fixing the old place up, but everything was too old and too far gone, even the newer parts of the home that had been added on over the years, a combination of termite and water damage from leaky roof and gutters. We had to tear the old house down so we could rebuild. In the process, we tried to salvage a few odds and ends, in the upstairs part of the old log cabin, we found newspapers on the log walls, under the paneling, that dated back to the 1940's. A lot of history in that home, we saved as much as we could, but most of it was too far gone. Interestingly enough, there was no evidence of any previous flooding events.

Anyway, I digress. Our main flooding problem here is flash flooding. It is not the typical flooding you might think of, with waters rising slowly, giving you time to fill sandbags to protect property or shore up a levy, this is fast, potentially hard hitting flooding, waters can rise and fall in a matter of hours, so many times you really don't have a choice but to stay put. And even if you did have the time to decide "this is the point I should bug out" there is really nowhere to go. Head for town? That takes you right alongside the same river that runs behind the house. If you did make it to town, you run right into an even bigger river that is fed by the one I have mentioned. This bigger river flows alongside the main highway in both directions for at least two hours worth of driving in either direction. One of those directions puts you right at the Ohio River. Given the choices, I think we're staying put.

Many steps have been taken over the years to help eliminate the flooding such as this project to eliminate the almost yearly flooding that would occur in town. Flooding has also been partly eliminated in my area by a smaller cut-through project. It doesn't totally eliminate the issue, but it has reduced it significantly. There are also PLENTY of low lying areas for rising waters to fill first. As far as the drainage ditch/stream goes, it has not risen outside of it's banks except in the back yard, where it merges with the river, and even if it did, the house sits on a further elevated area beyond it. Water has come across the road where it overflowed it's banks on the other side of the road due to debris blocking it's path, but I have only seen that happen once in the last 23 years. Even then it was not a significant amount of water.

Here is a video I found of a really bad flood that occurred here in 2010. This is an atypical flood event, the result of abnormally large amounts of rain falling in just a few hours, and even during this one that occurred within 5 miles or so of our house, the water did not come up to even touch the foundation of our home. I feel reasonably safe bugging in here, but I also realize the importance of having a plan in place to get out of dodge if time permits. I also realize the damage that the floating debris in flood waters can do. I never ever drive across water, esp moving water across a road. I may have come across the wrong way when I mentioned a last resort bug out plan. The plan I am thinking of, is absolutely last resort, if something caused the home to collapse or become unsafe, and we had to get out and seek higher ground or just find shelter on foot. I would not even think about trying to get in the car and cross water that is moving across the road. It might be looked at in hindsight as an epic fail in not getting out of dodge BEFORE things got this bad, but the reality of flash flooding here is, you just never really know.

I know this sounds crazy and counter-intuitive to what everyone is probably thinking, but bugging out at a safe point is just not really a viable option, unless DW and i both quit our jobs and leave town every time any significant rain is predicted. This is not a realistic option for us.

Mark, thanks---that clarifies it a lot.

The first thing (perhaps already done-- you seem to have thought this out)would be to be sure all the utilities, power, water supply, sewer/septic systems will be safe to be in the house when they are flooded. Don't want electrical charge in the water. . .

I also assume that you can use a cellphone to reach a nearby tower to call for help (or let everyone know your OK.

Then it just is a waiting game for the water to go back into its banks. Classic "bugging in." Food, medications, potable water, a way to cook, heat and diversions to pass the time. Adjust supplies for the max time you think you will be trapped.

Keep an axe in your attic.

sewer backflow preventer

Seems like common sense in the following video;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5ky0BWm8wY

But many a simple school boy error by folks has led to unfortunate and even deadly results.

OK, I give up: why did he make such a big point about wearing the flotation device on his chest, then, when he wades into the water, he has it on his back?

You need to sit down with your family and make a plan:
I. What needs to be saved from the house?
II. How is it going to be saved?
a. is going to evacuate with you?
1. who is going to move it to the evacuation vehicle?
b. is it going to be sealed up and left behind?
1. who is it going to be sealed up?
2. who is responsible for sealing it up?
III. When do you set the plan into motion?
IV. In what order will things be evacuated/sealed?

Houston floods every few years and we learned that without a plan it's very difficult to do anything effectively when you're in a panic because the water creeping closer and closer to your door. Arguing about what needs to be saved at the moment when saving is required is NOT a good use of time.

You already have your Emergency Binder ready to go, right?

Also note, the plan will take a lot longer to do in real life than you think it will take.
-Blast, speaking from experience (google tropical storm Allison, Houston, TX)

I don't have to worry about floods (200 feet above sea level, on a noticeable ridge crest) but wild fires are a concern. We have gone through almost precisely the process that Blast outlines for our evacuation and we have packed up the vehicles twice. What he states is absolutely true.

bws, I have been trying to think this through, more so lately in trying to alleviate some of my son's extreme anxiety over heavy rains, storms, and rising water. I'm glad I posed my question here as it is obvious I have many more things to think about and do.

The utilities that feed our home include gas for heating, cooking and hot water; electric for everything else; and water. Our septic is an aerator system, they would not allow us to put a septic tank/leach bed on the property due to the proximity to the river. The breaker box is in the garage, elevated on the wall. The garage floor is much lower than the rest of the house. There are flood vents, as required, to allow flood waters to come in the garage and exit into the crawl space, where there are two more flood vents to allow water to flow through instead of building up catastrophic pressure. Now while there has not been water in the garage due to flooding (had an incident recently with a faulty emergency release valve tho), would it be wise to get out there and shut off the main power switch BEFORE the water got high enough to even enter the garage through the flood vents? The water would have to come up quite a lot before it even reached any outlets or other wiring, but I'm thinking this might be the safest way to go if it ever did. The water heater was also placed in the garage, for ease of maintenance and replacement, however this is another possible weak spot as the water heater was placed on the garage floor. However there IS a shut off valve right on the line feeding it, I'm thinking turning off that valve, and unhooking the line leading from it to the hot water heater would be a good idea. I don't think there is much chance the water could get up enough to reach the heating/cooling system, but if it did there is a shut off there too if needed (it's an outside unit, but has been slightly elevated). The water main is in the front of the house beside the road, it would be a truly catastrophic flood event of Noah proportions to compromise that. As for the septic, it is in a lower part of the back yard, although not the lowest by any means. I do need to look into a back flow preventer like les suggested.

Cellphone service is spotty at home, but i can get a signal in the right spot. I need to get a good solar power system that could serve to recharge said phone, as well as any other devices.

The waiting game isn't so bad, as I said, usually it's only a matter of hours. We are not as trapped as it may sound, we do have some room to maneuver. Low spots in the road, where water may get up and over, are about half a mile to a mile in either direction, and that really doesn't happen very often.

Good idea chaos. the attic also gives us access to the fake dormers that lead out onto the roof as well. I'm assuming that you mean the axe for the purpose of cutting through the roof or sides to get out of the house? If the water got up high enough that we had to resort to that, well, I guess I'd better check into buying a boat or life raft to put up there too.

great idea les, need to check into that and see, I THINK our aerator system actually has one built into it, but need to double check on that.

all good points indeed blast. thanks for reminding me about the binder, i need to look up that thread again. Might be something I can get DW to take an interest in and do.

Having plans in place ahead of time is definitely a good idea, including plans on what valuables, family pictures or family heirlooms to save. When it's all said and done, tho, I think in the end we'll be happy if we can just save what can't be replaced, ourselves.

I think looking into "hardening" the utilities might be good idea---maybe talk to the companies that supply the gas & electricity. I am not at all familiar with the type of septic system you have. As to the others:
Electric: Probably a good idea to cut the main switch at the box if the water starts getting in. However, the mains coming into the box would still be live, so if the box goes under water, who know what might happen. Something to look into with the power company or a good electrician.
Gas: Normally, there is a main gas valve. Make sure you know where it is and cut it off also. Main concern would be stresses on the house causing a gas leak. You don't want that. Again, it might be worth a call to the gas company or certified tech for specific recommendations, if any.

It is usually where the gas enters your house at the meter. It's usually an ordinary little valve, but has just a tab on it which requires a wrench to close it. A crescent wrench will work. However, it is not a bad idea to keep a simple little gas shut off wrench ($5-$10 at most hardware stores) located at the valve. I keep one of those little wrenches zip tied to the pipe by the shut off valve. In the event of an earthquake (our most likely hazard at my house) I can easily break the zip tie and use the wrench to shut off the gas.

When I think about it, it's harder to walk/drive away from my house uncertain if I'll be able to return when I feel like everything will be lost. I can't avoid the destruction of things sometimes, but I can take steps to minimize the pain.

1. I've been working on systematically inventorying everything in the house with a video or still camera -- I take notes or make a verbal commentary of everything I have -- appliance serial numbers and model numbers, when/where I obtained it, etc. Software serial numbers. I'm scanning old pictures, convert videotapes and films to digital files so if I lose the originals I still have the content. (I'm making a home business out of this step.) All of this is good for insurance purposes and also good because it eliminates that feeling that, if the water came in, I wouldn't be sure what I had.

2. I've made a list of irreplaceable items that I can either take with me or move to a higher level in our house. I haven't done this yet, but I should make sure everyone in the house can deal with the list if I'm not home.

3. Of course the usual have copies of important legal, business, accounting and insurance documents, wills, powers of attorney, etc.

I think if more people did this it would be easier for them to decide to bug out.

In a past life I worked claims against the government, both moving and damage caused by the military. I found that an inventory w/ serial numbers, date purchased, amount, etc. was instrumental in people getting more money. Adjusters like to have things simple. If you can document what you had, it makes them happy and there are no court cases later on. Frankly, what you paid for an item is not that important, it's documenting that you had the item and it was so old.

While on this subject - get insurance with FULL REPLACEMENT COST. The PC I am typing on depreciated 75% in the first year I had it. If it gets destroyed today, I get the price of a new one that is comparable.

I found that thebig insurance companies didn't care about pictures or videos, they wanted proof of purchase. So I've been scanning and organizing receipts ever since.

The breaker box is elevated on the wall at a level comparable with the living area 1 foot above the BFE and level with the road in front of the house. If the water gets up that high we'll be aboard the arc with noah.



Someoe from the gas company had to come out to the house during the recent cold snaps, he removed some of the old equipment and installed some brand new equipment, complete with an easy to get to shut off valve. The down side is, it's in a lower part of the back yard, water has come up high enough to get over the meter before, whie still not getting high enough to reach even the foundation of the house.



It works almost like a regular septic system with a few minor differences. There is an initial holding tank where the raw sewage and waste water comes in. This has an aerator, basically a small motor with a long pipe that goes down into the water/sewage/generally nasty stuff. Four prongs at the end of the pipe serve to agitate, or aerate, the stuff. As the solids break down enough, they go through the next stages of the system, which include several filters, a leech bed of sorts, and finally a chlorinator which treats any excess runoff from the system before being discharged via a pipe into the river.

I need to check into whether or not we have a backflow preventor at that point in the system, as it is very susceptible to rising flood waters in the river.