Flood Safety

A flood is an overflow of water that submerges dry land. If the water reaches land that is populated by people, such as a village, it is considered to be a natural disaster. Floods usually occur near large bodies of water, such as a lake or river. When a storm causes the water levels to rise, the water may over flow the boundaries of the river and lake and spread to areas of land that are otherwise dry.

Flood safety knowledge is important because the amount of damage and loss of life can be devastating. Flood safety refers to the ways in which flood damage and danger are lessened. There are many ways in which flood safety and flood disaster preparedness can be practiced.

What is the Difference Between Flood Watch and Flood Warning?

When the media reports the threat of floods happening in your area, they may say there is a flood warning or flood watch. While this may seem like the same terms that may be used interchangeably, they are not. A flood watch is when a flood or flash flood is possible in the area in which you live. A flood or flash flood warning refers to flooding that is already happening or WILL occur in your area. Knowing this difference is important in flood disaster preparedness planning.

Steps to Do During a Flood Watch or Warning:
Stay informed:
Make sure that you have access to a television or radio and is tuned to a local news station that provides weather information. They will have up-to-date information for you and your area about possible flood warnings and the progress of storm that may be causing the flood. The internet may also be a valuable source to provide instant information as it breaks.

Evacuation:
Flood disaster preparedness means being ready and willing to evacuate at a moment’s notice. While you are keeping yourself informed with lines of communication such as television and radio, you should always keep in mind that you may need to leave your house very soon and quickly. When outlining your disaster preparedness planning, be sure that you have everything you need in the event of a flood warning and can leave immediately if necessary.

Stay Away From Flood Water:
In flood disaster planning, make sure that you do not put yourself in a position where you come in contact with flood water. The water can be highly dangerous, even in just six inches of water, which could sweep you off your feet.

Flood Warning:
Once you receive a flood warning, head to higher ground immediately. This means that a flood is currently in progress or is about to happen.

Flood Disaster Preparedness Supplies:
It is important in your flood disaster preparedness planning that you have the right supplies in the event of a flood. Remember that food and water should always be at the top of your list:
• Water
• Food
• Flashlight
• Battery-powered radio
• Extra batteries for radio
• First aid kit
• Medications as needed
• Extra cash
• Cell phone
• Maps of the surrounding area

American Red Cross

The American branch of the Red Cross is the humanitarian movement within the United States that provides similar functions such as disaster relief aid and prevention of human suffering as its international sister organizations. Disaster relief help is just one of its many functions. The American Red Cross helps the needy, provides communication services for the military, the collection of blood and related products for those that need it, provides educational resources about health and safety, and international disaster relief aid development initiatives.

All of the decisions made by the American Red Cross are done by volunteers and donations from the community help support it. It has 700 chapters and 36 different Blood Service region all across the country. About 30,000 volunteers provide mobilized services for American Red Cross disaster relief duties for people effected by almost 70,000 disasters annually. It is also the largest supplier of blood and blood-related products, providing them to over 3,000 hospitals across the entire nation.

Disaster Services:
The American Red Cross responds quickly to provide disaster relief help to many different disasters, ranging from apartment fires to situations that are much more severe, such as hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, tornadoes, spill hazards, vehicle accidents, explosions, tsunamis and many other natural and man-made disasters. The American Red Cross is not a government organization, although it has an enforced responsibility and authority that was granted in 1905 by a congressional charter which read:

“[The American Red Cross may] carry on a system of national and international relief in time of peace and apply the same in mitigating the sufferings caused by pestilence, famine, fire, floods, and other great national calamities, and to devise and carry on measures for preventing the same.”

This congressional charter gave the American Red Cross an obligation to provide disaster relief help to the nation and the victims that are effected by emergencies. In the event of a disaster or national emergency, no matter how severe, the American Red Cross provides diaster relief aid in the form of shelter, food, clean water and medical services to people who need it and were affected by the crisis. The disaster relief aid provided by the organization also gives families and victims the assistance needed to carry on their normal routines and start their life up again. They even enlist multilingual volunteers in situations that may need it, especially if the American Red Cross helps nations abroad.

Many people believe that the American Red Cross, in addition to disaster relief help, they also carry out search and rescue missions and send ambulances to areas effected by a major disaster. This is not the case, however, and is a common misconception by the public. The American Red Cross provides disaster relief aid but they do not perform immediate-response actions. Their goal is, rather, to perform services that look more towards the long-term so that people can be put back on their feet.

Fire Departments

This is the first phase in emergency and natural disaster management that responds to the actual incident. An disaster response team usually includes firefighters, policemen, and medical teams sent in as a first measure to contain a situation before it gets out of hand, search for survivors and assess the situation. Disaster response and disaster aid is the step of disaster management that precedes mitigation and preparedness. Response efforts are greatly improved when proper mitigation and preparedness is established first before a disaster occurs.

Emergency Services:
When a crisis situation occurs and disaster response teams are needed, emergency services are sent to the location to contain it and save lives. Emergency services are organizations established to ensure the safety of the public. Each organization is designed to handle different types of situations and other some specifically handle situations that are severe in nature.

Main Types of Emergency Services:
• Police: Tasked with providing community safety and enforce the law to reduce crime.
• Fire Departments: Provide disaster aid by carrying out fire and rescue missions and other disaster response services.
• Medical Service: Medical staffs that provide disaster aid by tending to injured persons.

Other Emergency and Disaster Response Organizations:

Coastguard: Patrol the coast to ensure security near the ocean and also carry out search and rescue missions.
Military: Used in times of catastrophic disasters to provide disaster response through bomb disposal and relieving civil violence.
Technical Rescue: Provide disaster aid in search and rescue missions that require specialty services to carry out.
Wildland fire suppression: A service that predicts, identifies and helps to control wildfires from starting or spreading.

Civil Emergency Services:
• Public Utilities: These emergency services specialize in electricity and gas to safeguard these dangerous hazards.
• Emergency Roadside Service: Provide disaster response to drivers that are stranded or need help on the roads.
• Poison Control: Provide support for poisoned victims who need disaster aid.
• Animal Control: Provide disaster aid for situations involving potentially dangerous animals.

Effective emergency service coordination involves all agencies working in a disaster situation to have proper communication. Without useful communication in a disaster, many lives could be lost or the situation could become worse. The national standard, National Incident Management System (NIMS), is a structure of emergency management used in the United States and developed by the United States Department of Homeland Security. Deriving from the Incident Command System established in California after a catastrophic wildfire, NIMS provides a system of effective communication established between agencies. These agencies can be located in different jurisdictions, whether they are private, public or governmental organizations. While the NIMS structure is only used in severe disaster response situations, millions of emergency workers take NIMS courses to better their skills and management in any situation, no matter how severe.

Disaster Preparedness Checklist

A natural disaster is the result of when a natural hazard affects humans. The amount of human vulnerability is the factor that leads to financial, environmental, or human impact. The amount of vulnerability that humans may have to a natural hazard can be subsided by proper emergency management, preparedness, and mitigation. The amount of damage and the death toll from a natural disaster usually depends on the ability of the population to resist, prepare, or lessen the affects of a natural disaster. The general notion is that “natural disasters happen when hazards collide with vulnerability”.

The key to surviving and minimizing damage is to lessen vulnerability. This can be done if the proper steps are taken in the event of an emergency. It is important to have a disaster preparedness plan. This ensures that when a disaster does strike, you will be ready. In the event of an emergency, one will be required to make split-second decisions, and not being ready to make the right ones can mean the difference between life and death. A disaster preparedness checklist can help a great deal as well. The disaster preparedness checklist should be discussed with your friends and family.

Disaster Preparedness Checklist:

Contact an American Red Cross Facility:

* Discover which disasters are likely to occur in your area.
* Find out information on how to prepare for such an emergency.
* Ask about proper disaster preparedness plans that would be effective in such emergencies.
* If you work in a certain area prone to other disasters, develop a disaster preparedness plan for your work as well.
* Develop a disaster preparedness plan for a child or children you may have in daycare.

Developing a Disaster Preparedness Plan:

* Discuss with all family members or friends that live within your household about possible effects of earthquakes, hurricanes or other disasters that may cause fires or other hazards in your household.
* Depending on the type of disaster(s) your area is prone to, find the safe spot for each one.
* Make sure you have a plan if an injury occurs, such as having a first-aid kit handy.
* Make sure all members of the household know how to shut off water, electricity or gas in the event of an emergency.
* Teach young children how to dial for an emergency for police or fire.
* Have a family member or friend who lives out of state as an emergency contact for your family.
* Decide on one or two places to meet in the event of an emergency.

Have Supply Kits Handy:
This is an important part of the disaster preparedness checklist because they provide essential supplies that you will need in an emergency. Include:

* Water (about one to three gallons per person in strong containers).
* Non-perishable foods.
* Blankets or sleeping bags.
* Change of clothing for each person.
* A first aid kit including any prescription medications a member of the household may require.
* A battery-powered radio and flashlight.
* Credit cards or cash.
* Extra pair of glasses if a member of the household requires it.

International Red Cross

The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a humanitarian movement that accounts for approximately 97 million volunteers worldwide. The purpose of this movement was to contribute to the protection of human life and for their well-being. This includes alleviating human suffering without discriminating anybody based on their nationality, race, sex, religion, political opinion, or social class. There is no single organization named “International Red Cross”, rather it is a group of independently- run organizations that share a common purpose of humanitarianism. Red Cross disaster relief is one of their most popular functions, providing support and supplies to countries that have been effected by a natural disaster or terrorist attack.

American Red Cross Disaster Relief:
The American branch of the Red Cross is the humanitarian movement within the United States that provides similar functions such as Red Cross disaster relief and prevention of human suffering as its international sister organizations. American Red Cross disaster relief is just one of its many functions. The American Red Cross helps the needy, provides communication services for the military, the collection of blood and related products for those that need it, provides educational resources about health and safety, and international Red Cross disaster relief development initiatives.

All of the decisions made by the American Red Cross are done by volunteers and donations from the community help support it. It has 700 chapters and 36 different Blood Service region all across the country. About 30,000 volunteers provide mobilized services for American Red Cross disaster relief duties for people effected by 67,000 disasters annually. It is also the largest supplier of blood and blood-related products, providing them to over 3,000 hospitals across the entire nation.

History of the Red Cross Movement:
The Red Cross disaster relief movement started when Swiss businessman, Henry Dunant, traveled to Italy to meet with Napoleon III. There, he witnessed a bloody battle in the Austro-Sardinian War and was shocked at the lack of basic care for all the soldiers that were wounded. About 40,000 soldiers died, and thousands of others were left dying without any type of medical care. After abandoning the original reason for his visit, he organized groups of locals to treat wounded soldiers, without discrimination. Later, he began promoting the formation of national voluntary relief organizations. Soon, the International Committee of the Red Cross was established. His efforts would eventually evolve into the Red Cross disaster relief movement of today, which became popular for its volunteer work.

Notable Parts in the Red Cross Disaster Relief and Humanitarian Movement:

* The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the private humanitarian institution founded in 1863.
* The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), founded in 1919, handles activities of 186 Red Cross disaster relief organizations across the World.
* National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies are societies that exist in nearly every country in the world, handled by the ICRC.

Hurricane Preparedness

A hurricane, also known as a tropical cyclone, is a severe storm system that has a low-pressure center and numerous thunderstorms that surround it, producing strong winds and heavy rainfall. Hurricanes occur when air with lots of moisture rises, causing condensation of water vapor and the release of heat. Since hurricanes use heat to fuel their destructive power, they are classified differently than nor’easters and European windstorms. Hurricanes usually originate at or near the equator, about 10 degrees from it (which is where the name ‘tropical cyclone’ comes from). They always develop and gain momentum over water and when they reach land, their power subsides.

What is Hurricane Preparedness?

Hurricane preparedness refers to all the actions and mitigation measures taken before a hurricane hits land inhabited by humans and livestock reducing damage, injuries and death from a storm. Hurricane preparedness can be at any level, from personal preparation, and efforts done by governments and public and private organizations.

How did Hurricane Preparedness originate?

When hurricanes hit dry land inhabited by humans and livestock, they can create billions of dollars worth of damages. Studies have shown that damage caused by the high winds and precipitation in a hurricane can be greatly reduced by following certain measures, especially in areas prone to hurricanes. This includes improved building structural technologies, advanced warning and communication, and more accurate predictions.

Preparedness in Individuals:
Evacuation is always the best defense against a hurricane, but if it is not possible due to certain limiting situations, securing one’s home is the best defense against a hurricane. All homes in hurricane prone areas should be equipped with hurricane preparedness kits. Kits include water, prepared meals, first-aid kits, and battery powered tools useful in the event of a tropical cyclone.

Evacuation plans should also be discussed with with all residents within a community. Hurricane shelters are usually present in certain areas and are quickly prepared for housing many residents in the event of a hurricane strike. The shelters are designed to protect residents from the wind and precipitation in a hurricane.

What is Home Retrofitting?

If a homeowner in a hurricane prone area would like to protect their property, there are many ways to improve the structure of a house so that it is not completely destroyed in a storm. Hiring a hurricane mitigation professional will ensure that a house is structurally resistant and may provide tips on having the house secured. Although retrofitting can help protect a house from strong winds and precipitation, floods can still occur and damage a home.

Organized Preparedness:
One of the primary organizations that specialize in hurricane preparedness is the National Hurricane Center, located in at Florida International University in Miami, Florida. The National Hurricane Center is a part of National Weather Service’s Tropical Prediction Center. They are able to predict weather patterns to a certain extent and track storms to help provide early warnings to areas vulnerable to an approaching hurricane. When a hurricane is expected to reach land in 36 hours, the National Hurricane Center issues warnings to news media sources to inform the public of the approaching tropical cyclones.

Flood Prevention

A flood is an overflow of water that submerges dry land. If the water reaches land that is populated by people, such as a village, it is considered to be a natural disaster. Floods usually occur near large bodies of water, such as a lake or river. When a storm causes the water levels to rise, the water may over flow the boundaries of the river and lake and spread to areas of land that are otherwise dry.

Flood control is important because the amount of damage and loss of life can be devastating, especially in third-world countries that have limited resources. Flood control refers to the ways in which floods are prevented or the effects of floods are lessened. There are many ways in which flood control is performed and maintained, from dams to levees. Before flood control can be implemented, it must first be understood what causes a flood to occur. There are many different causes for floods and is usually a factor of the surrounding environment.

What Causes Floods?
Floods may be caused by natural characteristics of earth. This includes heavy rainfall, severe winds over large bodies of water, rapid melting of snow, high tides in coastal regions, and tsunamis. Floods may also be the result of a failure of a dam, a structure built and used to hold back the flow of water, usually to protect a living establishment, such as a village or town. Floods can usually occur near rivers regularly. The surrounding region of a part of land susceptible to floods is called the flood plain.

When severe rainstorms occur, a lot of the water is absorbed by ponds, rivers, lakes, soil, trees and other vegetation, but the water that remains is called surface runoff. When all of these entities cannot absorb all of the water, the surface runoff may cause floods to occur. Floods may occur slowly, giving plenty of advance warning to surrounding areas to lessen the effects of a natural disaster, but sometimes floods can happen with little to no warning. These are called flash floods.

Severe winds may cause floods to occur also. In coastal regions, rainfall may not be severe, but if it experiences a storm with heavy winds, those winds may carry water from the ocean or a large body of water inland. The shoreline then cannot contain the water and nearby areas are devastated by the effects of a flood.

How are Floods Contained?

Areas in the United States, such as New Orleans, are below sea level. In order to prevent floods from occurring, levees are built along the coast to prevent water from flowing into the city. The levees must be properly inspected to ensure their stability, a lesson learned after Hurricane Katrina, which damaged a large portion of the city with coastal floods.

Rivers throughout the world are carefully managed with levees, reservoirs and dams. If any of these defense mechanisms fail during a flood, sandbags are usually used to stop the flow of water. Dikes are also used, but should be used in conjunction with other methods in order to be effective.

Mitigation and Preparedness

The National Incident Management System (NIMS) was an emergency response system that was designed to ensure that proper coordination and communication was established during the event of a crisis. Possible disasters can include an act of terrorism, an urban fire, floods, nuclear disasters, earthquakes, power storms such as hurricanes and typhoons, war-related incidents, etc. The NIMS system was established nationwide and modeled after the initial Incident Command System (ICS) that was created after devastating wildfires in the state of California. Not only does the emergency response system improve communication and coordination, but it was also designed as a means by which mitigation and preparedness can help prevent or lessen the effects of a man-made or natural disaster.

Mitigation:
Mitigation in emergency management means the steps taken to prevent all possible hazards that may lead towards a disaster. The mitigation phase of emergency management is unique because it focuses on long-term tasks that are effective at reducing or eliminating any risk of a disaster from occurring. Mitigation is part of four phases of emergency management:

(1) Mitigation; (2) Preparedness; (3) Response; (4) Recovery.

After the recovery phase, mitigation may begin again as a part of the recovery process.

Mitigation can come in the form of structural or non-structural. An example of structural mitigation is the building of a damn to prevent floods from occurring in an area that may be vulnerable to floods during heavy storms. Non-structural mitigation can involve any type of legislation, insurance, or other planning. While not always suitable, mitigation is the most cost-effective way to prevent and lessen the effects of disasters. Structural mitigation may have harmful effects on the environment if not used properly and it provides rules and enforcement during the event of a crisis, such as regulations on evacuations.

The first step in mitigation is to identify risks. This is usually done by finding a potential hazard and then examining it to determine the chances of it causing a disaster and who is vulnerable to the disaster. For example, if there is a catastrophic earthquake, but it occurs in the middle of the desert where nobody lives, then there is no risk involved.

Preparedness:
Another important part of emergency management is preparedness. This usually involves having a plan in case a disaster does happen. This phase comes before an emergency response and is usually vital in reducing the dangers during the emergency response process. There are several aspects of preparation that is covered to ensure that a disaster is handled properly:

* Plans of communication are defined and universal terminology is established;
* Emergency response teams are trained to be quick and coordinated;
* Development of public emergency response services for communication and spread of information;
* Stockpiling important supplies and organization to ensure there is proper access to them;
* Creation of emergency response volunteers who are properly trained among the population.

Preparedness is also understanding and evaluating a casualty prediction. This is basically estimating how many deaths may occur if a certain disaster would happen in a given location. This will give an idea of what kind of supplies and how much is needed, and which emergency response protocol needs to be used.

Personally Prepare for an Emergency

Regardless of where you live, there is always a threat of a natural disaster affecting you. Some areas are more prone to a natural disaster, such as the mid-west of the United States being prone to tornadoes or California being likely to experience an earthquake, but any area in the United States may experience a flood, severe storm, etc. that may cause damage and endanger lives. The best thing to do when a natural disaster threatens your home is to have disaster preparedness, meaning you have done the necessary actions to help your chances of survival and increased chances of minimizing damage done.

Having natural disaster preparedness means that you are prepared to experience any affect of a natural disaster, whether it is direct or indirect. Your house may not be hit by a severe storm or tornado, but your electricity and/or water may be cut off by it for a long period of time. A flood may not affect your home, but it can contaminate drinking water from your faucet. In any case, there is no such thing as being overly-prepared in disaster preparedness. It is better to be safe than sorry.

Set Priorities:
The first thing you should do when performing natural disaster preparedness is to identify priorities. What is most important to you? For everyone, the essentials should first be identified; this includes, in order: water, food, and shelter. Shelter is important, but not as important as food, and food is important, but not as important as water. Make sure that all of the most important items are stocked first in your natural disaster preparedness.

Bottles of water should be stocked first and foremost, as they are proven to have an indefinite shelf life, meaning they are good for as long as they are unopened. Water should be plentiful, but not too much, because if you need to move from one place to another, you may be leaving a vast majority of it behind. About three gallons of water per person is ideal to have in disaster preparedness.

Food items should be also stored, but since natural disaster relief may take some time, items requiring refrigeration should not be used in disaster preparedness. Dry foods and canned foods are usually the best choice, as long as they do not require cooking or a great deal of preparation before they are ready to be eaten. Food that is low or has no salt is ideal as well, as this will help conserve water (salt will dehydrate your body).

Shelter is important because it provides a place that is warm (or cool) and safe for people during a natural disaster. If evacuation is not mandatory during a crisis (especially in the case of a flood), then staying in your home is probably the best solution for natural disaster preparedness. If a home is not available, a car is good for one or two people to seek refuge in.

Natural Disaster Management

Natural disaster management is a discipline that is involved with determining risks, minimizing those risks, and recovering when the risks come to fruition during such events as a natural disaster. There are four phases in natural disaster management:

Mitigation:
Steps taken to prevent a disaster from occurring or minimizing the risk of a natural hazard becoming a natural disaster. Mitigation involves long-term measures, in contrast to the preparedness stage, which is focused on the short-term.

Preparedness:
This stage in emergency and natural disaster management involves developing proper plans of action when a disaster strikes or is imminent. This involves preparing inventor and supplies, developing means of adequate communication between emergency response teams and the general public, and preparing emergency relief plans for the area, usually by volunteer organizations such as the red cross.

Response:
This is the first phase in emergency and natural disaster management that responds to the actual incident. This includes firefighters, policemen, and medical teams. Response efforts are greatly improved when proper mitigation and preparedness is established first before a disaster occurs.

Recovery:
The recovery phase happens after all immediate relief efforts are done, such as saving lives or providing necessary supplies. This is a process that takes longer than the response effort and is aimed at rebuilding an area effected by a natural disaster to the point where it was before it.

The Profession of Emergency and Natural Disaster Management:
Emergency managers are trained in a variety of disciplines that are needed for the entire duration of a crisis. Training for this field generally is provided by local, state and federal organizations, and sometimes from private organizations as well. In 2004, the Department of Homeland Security in the United States released the National Incident Management System (NIMS) which detailed guidelines for multiagency cooperation during the event of a major crisis. All training programs now meet NIMS guidelines.

While traditionally personnel with military background have always been the primary source of workers in the event of a crisis due to their experience in first-response situations, there has been a rise in undergraduate and graduate degrees in emergency and natural disaster management. Experts providing aid for areas affected by a natural disaster come from many different educational and professional backgrounds.

Organizations Involved with Emergency and Natural Disaster Management:

International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM):
IAEM is a non profit organization that provides educational tools for saving lives and safe-guarding property in the event of an emergency or natural disaster. They provide information, networking opportunities for professionals, and aim towards improving emergency response and relief efforts in general.

Red Cross/Red Crescent:
The National Red Cross have an important role in emergency response and relief. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies focus generally on the recovery efforts of emergency management.

United Nations:
The United Nations may respond to a country affected by a natural disaster by sending a UN Disaster Assessment and Coordination team.