Time to make a Flood Condition Checklist???

For those of us living along the Mississippi River Basin and all of it's tributaries, I think I will start finalizing my Flood Contingency Plan while I am home the next time.

There is a lot of water in the rivers now and it is not going to go down very much before the April Showers and snow melt starts to build it back up again as the "June Rise".

IMO, the levees are not in the best of shape. The area around Lake Providence, La is a known weakspot and there are several of us that are truly concerned about a levee breaking in that area. That would create quite a mess in the state of Louisiana!!

My current line of thinking is:

1) Get flood insurance (takes 30 days to go into effect).

2) Look at maps and predict most likely flood lanes from a possible failure at Lake Providence, La and Morganza, La.

3) Look at all possible escape routes.

4) Do the research and come up with a FloodCon Checklist, including key decision making points concerning Bug Out Decision Making Points.

5) I think this post places me in FloodCon 5, making basic preparations!

6) Get a boat, and store unhooked from the trailer, and tied off to a high spot on a tree or house ???

Interesting idea, but with a rise in water of such a level there is going to be a lot of debris headed downstream that may destroy the boat or take it on its way.

Perhaps a boat could be tied on the downstream side of the house. Maybe it's safer to keep an inflatable on the second floor of the house, but I think the best plan is to get out before there's a need for a boat.

I'm afraid that I've never lived in a flood plane, and don't know what to do about a boat for such emergencies. I'll be interested in what more experienced people have to say about the idea.

Reminds me of 'The Miller's Tale' from Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. Those of you who remember the story know why I don't go into any detail.

Thats very interesting. If a levee broke around Lake Providence, how quickly would you know, and how soon would the incoming water affect your escape routes? What kind of timing issues are involved there?

Factor in the exodus of other people and you have a very difficult situation.

So, I would think that you would want to learn about the fastest way to get news that a levee has broken. Preferably something quicker than the local TV news channel.

Its really a difficult thing to plan because lets say you find out quickly, and you hit the road before it hits the TV... but too late to outrun the exodus. That could be a bad situation for you too.

The best escape route might be one that stayed on high ground, even if its a longer exit...

Some very good points, as we have all learned from Katrina, Rita, Ike, etc, etc. The "Escape Routes" become clogged with traffic very quickly. The decision to Bug Out must be made BEFORE an evacuation is ordered by Emergency Management Offices, in order to be workable.

I have a lot more research to get accomplished before I tweak what I "pulled out of my butt" this afternoon.

I don't know exactly what route a flash flood from a broken levee at Lake Providence would take, although I have a general idea. Depending on whether such a break occurred during daylight or nighttime hours would determine if aIssued Warnings wiould be received in a timely fashion (best scenario) or in insufficient time to Bug Out (worst scenario).

Hang on Terxians cause if Lake Providence Levee were to break, you'd have a whole lot of Louisianians heading westward.

If a Levee broke at Morganza, La, folks would be scattering to the East and West!

Here's what I've come up with, thus far. I have a lot more research to do and future changes will reflect that research being completed.

Flood Condition Checklist

Updated: 01Fed10


FloodCon 5

1) Assume during late Winter to early Spring when Mississippi or nearby rivers are higher than normal because of early heavy rains and/or snawfall levels.

2) Review FloodCon Checklist.

3) Review status of Flood Insurance Levels. Procure Flood Insurance if needed.

4) Review Official Current Material Conditions of all pertinent Levee Systems.

FloodCon 4

1) Assume when local rivers or the Mississippi River have reached their official Flood Stages near weak points in the Levee System or near the homestead.

2) Review “Escape Routes” in case of Flash Flood Warnings when Heavy Rains are expected. If not already, Enroll with the state’s Emergency Management Automatic Emergency Conditions Email Notification System.

3) Review all Emergency Supply Inventories and fill any “gaps”.

4) Check River Stages and forecasts weekly (Mondays).

5) Keep Fuel Tank Levels above ½ full mark.

FloodCon 3

1) Assume when the US Army Corps of Engineers commence “24 Hr Levee Patrols”

2) Monitor Local News Broadcasts at least once daily.

3) Top off all BoB’s with consumables, meds, and papers.

4) Check the US Army Corps of Engineers Website daily, for Levee Condition Reports. Check River Stages and Forecasts daily.

FloodCon 2

1) Assume when Local or State Emergency Management Agencies start issuing warnings and/or issuing sandbags.

2) Check Email twice daily for State Emergency Management Warnings.

3) Load Bob’s into vehicles along with other “Emergency Equipment”.

4) Commence continuous monitoring of local news via TV or Radio, as appropriate.

5) Top off all vehicle fuel tanks and stored gas cans.

6) Decision Time: This is the time to decide if the threat is serious enough to the homestead to warrant Bugging Out or Bugging In.

FloodCon 1

1) Assume when an upstream levee breaks or it becomes obvious that water levels are going to affect the homestead, if Bugged in. Determine if Bugging Out is feasible and/or advisable under current conditions.

2) Prepare to secure electricity, water, and gas valves.

3) Prepare upstairs for occupancy by the family and as many friends as possible. Important: Locate an axe to the upstairs as well as Emergency Food, Water, all meds, important papers, Weps/Ammo, etc.

4) Relocate vehicles to higher ground, if possible.

5) Get as much furniture up as high as possible with spare cinder blocks.

Wildman:

I think I would get a radio that could pick up your local Fire Department and police. They will probably be the first to know when there is a break and might be hours ahead of local TV and radio. You could also plug in the Freq of the local road conditions to find out which is getting overloaded and which are not.

Not sure but this might help. I havent used it but I think it links to google map layers and using google maps shows where the various flood zones are and at what height a a certain point floods. If thats not it Im sure is something out there that does this. Might be helpful on planning escape routes based on the best probability of the roads not being flooded.

https://hazards.fema.gov/femaportal/wps/portal/NFHLWMSkmzdownload

Wildman, keep in mind that flood waters, especially flash-flood waters, rise quickly. Even more so I would assume if something like a levee breaks. That's a lot of water that has to go somewhere. Also make sure your escape route doesn't end up taking you through an area that will be under water during a major flood. Our area experienced a major flood last year and a second minor flood a month later. Our house sits on high ground so we tend to bug in, but what really made me think was the fact that during the major flood, the road (the ONLY road) that we could use to bug out if something unexpected had happened was under water at either end. Even if we had needed to bug out in a vehicle we couldn't. Fortunately the water crested well before reaching even the foundation of our home and nothing else unexpected happened but it really made me think about our flood contingency plans. Can we afford to bug in the next time? What if DS, DW or myself had been badly injured? Or got really sick? A lot of what ifs and no easy answers.

Many people make the mistake of assuming the water simply rises during a flood. Don't forget there is a lot of force driving the water (with the possible exception of overflow or backwash areas, parts of what is sometimes referred to as the flood fringe) and, as someone mentioned, a lot of debris, especially in the stream channel and the areas of the floodway immediately adjacent to it. The force of the moving water and the debris usually preclude the use of boats other than in the flood fringe areas.

In my area and some others, there is also a danger of mudslides. During the minor flood I mentioned above a major mudslide just above the house blocked the road for several hours. Most of the time these slides cannot be anticipated, complicating the "when to bug in or bug out" equation, and certainly the floodcon checklist. Hopefully your area is not prone to mudslides, Wildman. Hope this helps.

edit: (Response to harstad) That would be the FEMA website here:

http://www.fema.gov/index.shtm

I like this. Trying it now.

Yeah this link works. Shows where major flooding would happen. Very nice.

https://hazards.fema.gov/femaportal/kmz/Stay_Dry_v2.0.kmz

I also live in the Mississippi flood basin. My suggestion would be to relocate as much as you can upstairs closer to FloodCon4.

My reasoning is this: you have time to do so, without as much pressure or fear. Also most of they guys I know would laugh and call me a nervous nelly, but come help. If you wait until later you and your family will have to schlep it all yourselves, as everyone else is doing the same.

Couple of observations,

prices go up in any panic. In '08 a gallon of water went from around .80cents to a little over a dollar. Stock and fill gaps before people get scared and prices rise. Tying in with that, when people get scared they buy more. When it snows here, stores sell out of shovels and salt. People wait to the last minute because "Walmart always has ...."

Last, might seem kinda dirty but make friends with a somebody on the levee. I was on the levee in '08 from laying plastic up to the convicts starting the clean up. I learned a tremendous amount listening to the guys there. most had been there the last major flood ('93) I knew what was going on on my stretch of levee daily (Patrol), and listened to the "Boss." He told me when to worry, and when we were "being safe." I had a couple of friends that called me pretty much everyday for an update. A source that actually knows the conditions and/or has access to a real world view is a pretty good asset. IMO the Army Corp are not impressive here. Most seem to be educated but no common sense. But my opinion is pretty biased, I had to pull them out of the same mud too many times. How many times do you need to drive into a mudhole before you figure out that your truck ain't gonna make it?