ABC EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT FLOOD

Flooding is one of the most costly disaster events in all of the world. It causes more damage, happens more often and has taken more lives than any other event. There are some simple steps you can take to be prepared for flooding.

WARNING AND WATCH - WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

The National Weather Service issues watches and warning when severe weather is going to occur. A watch means that conditions are favorable for the event to happen, such as a thunderstorm watch. A thunderstorm watch means storms may happen and there is some weather event on its way. Watches can be issued for hours. When a watch is issued you should make sure your aware of the weather around you and be ready to act if things get bad. A watch simply requires you and your family to be more aware and ready to act if something happens. If you live in flood prone areas you should be sure you keep a eye on stream conditions as well.

A WARNING is issued only when the weather event mentioned is imminent. A flash flood warning means flooding is going to occur somewhere in the community. A WARNING requires immediate action, you should enact your family plan for this type of event. In a flood warning, you should constantly monitor your surroundings if you live in flood prone areas. A warning is usually issued for a county at one time, so you may not be in the immediate danger area, but if you live in an area where run off occurs you may want to keep better watch even after the initial warning is issued.

To make sure you receive weather watches and warnings, a tone alert weather radio is a vital link to these messages as well as other messages from the local government public safety organizations. Tone alert radios are able to be programmed now for specific areas and communities so you don't have warnings from other areas as was the case in the older technology radios. You will want to purchase a S.A.M.E. Weather Radio (Specific Area Message Encoding).

FLOOD INSURANCE www.floodsmart.gov

Everyone can get Flood Insurance in Boyd County whether you live in a flood plain or on top of one of our little mountains. In areas not mapped as flood plain these policies are referred to as Preferred risk policies. Usually they are cheaper than you think. Don't let your insurance agent tell you he/she can't sale you this insurance. They don't have to sale it, the reason they may not want to sale it, is that it does not make the agent or insurance company that much money. Remember they are a business and have expenses too. Go out and find an agent who is willing to sale this policy, they are out there.

If you do get flooded in your home, after the event immediately contact your insurance company, and remove all wet and damp objects. You will want to dry your home out as quickly as possible to keep mold, mildew and other harmful effects from forming. There are many websites where you can find information on cleaning your flooded home. If the event is widespread you need to contact the Emergency Management Office in order to let them know what has happened. This is important whether you have insurance or not. This allows us to turn this damage data over to the State for possible inclusion in a request for federal disaster assistance.

There are many volunteer organizations out there who may come to your assistance immediately after a flood. The American Red Cross and Southern Baptist Disaster Relief are active in our community and have help many families when they need the help the most.

If you must work in flooded waters or have been expose to them, contact your physician to see whether you need a tetanus shot, or other preventative medicine, flood waters are rarely clean.

There is considerable confusion over the disaster assistance process, and it needs clarification. In the event of an emergency in the community that exceeds the local capability to respond or recover from, of if there is WIDSPREAD suffering, then the County Judge Executive or Mayor requests assistance from the State. If the same conditions are statewide or a larger area of the state, then the Governor requests federal assistance. There are actually damage estimate numbers that must be met. This usually boils down to a dollar amount in damage per capita. What this means is the damage estimates must be in millions of dollars in order for federal disaster assistance to be awarded to a community.

If there is a Federal Disaster Declaration from the President of the United States, federal money may start to flow, however this process is long and drawn out. There are two separate programs, one is the Public Assistance Program - which reimburses local governments for their costs associated with their response to the disaster, the second is the individual assistance program which provides assistance to the individual or family. This is where you would call the FEMA 800 number advertised for the disaster on local news media.

The individual assistance program is intended to assist those who are in immediate need, it only covers some costs for temporary housing and contents of the living area, nothing more. It does not cover bridges, garages, other buildings or vehicles. It is intended to cover the livable parts of the home only. One other thing to note is that when you receive federal disaster assistance you are required to obtain flood insurance for future loss. Failure to keep the insurance may result in you not being eligible for disaster assistance in the future after that first loss.

What ever you do, please don't play into the rumors about federal disaster assistance, if you don't know, or if it sounds too good to be true then don't believe it until you see if for yourself. Take the time to do the research and understand the process.

Flooding is one of the most horrible disasters a family could be exposed to. It is difficult to recover from, it costs considerable money to recover from, and happens way to frequently. The local government will do everything in its power to help prevent, respond to and recover from the event. It should also be noted, there are times when no matter what we do the area is going to flood, this could be due to a rare weather event or other reason. These areas are continually being identified and looked at. Cleaning out creeks may help a little bit, but be assured in some areas we could make the run off ditches twelve feet deeper and fifty feet wider and they still are going to flood.

Lastly if you are moving please do the research on your home and insure your not walking into a time bomb. Real Estate agents are required to disclose all information concerning the home, however sometimes they may put this in the fine print or rarely they may just omit that fact. If you buying a nice home for a really small price this may also be an indicator of other trouble. When you buy a used car you get a CARFAX report, unfortunately there is not a source like that for homes that we know of. The best way to protect your potential investment is to make contacts with the Emergency Management Office, local fire department, and law enforcement agency and ask them the history of the home you are planning to buy. This way you know well before your stuck in a very bad situation.