This past week we had heavy rain that caused flooding. In fact, in some areas residents had to be evacuated from their homes be-cause of the amount of flood water that was coming into their houses.
In my case, water flooded the basement and clean-up took five of us two and a half hours!
As we have seen or experienced, floods are unpredictable but a few precautions can prepare us for such events. Below are a few tips.
€ Learn local evacuation routes, know your communities warning signals and locate local emergency shelters.
€ Place emergency phone numbers at every phone in your house. Make sure that you have a family contact person in case you and your family become separated.
If this happens the family contact can be the meeting point. You may want the contact person to be a relative that lives out of state.
Also, make sure that everyone in your family knows the name, address, and phone number for this contact person.
€ Inform your local authorities about any special needs, such as the elderly or anyone with a disability.
€ Identify any potential home hazards and how to secure or protect them before a flood hits.
For example be prepared to shut off all electrical power and turn off all gas as well as water supplies before you evacuate.
€ Buy a fire extinguisher and keep it in the home. Be sure that everyone knows where it is kept and how to use it.
€ Create an emergency supply kit. Items the kit might consist of include: several clean containers of water that are large enough to last 3 to 5 days (about five gallons for each person).
A supply of non-perishable food and a non-electric can opener.
A first aid kit and a manual, prescription medicines and any special medical needs.
A battery-powered radio, flashlights, and extra batteries will be crucial as well as sleeping bags or extra blankets.
Water-purifying supplies, such as chlorine or iodine tablets or unscented, ordinary household chlorine bleach are a good idea to have.
If you have a baby, make sure you have baby food and/or prepared formula, diapers or other baby supplies.
Disposable cleaning cloths, such as #baby wipes# is a good idea for the whole family to use, and personal hygiene supplies, such as soap, toothpaste, sanitary napkins are important.
A car emergency kit that contains food, flares, booster cables, maps, tools, first aid would not hurt either.
€ Last but not least, when a storm hits listen to the radio or the television to keep up on the weather situation in your area and any information on what you should do in case of an emergency.
Beth Janes is the Americorps environmental education
assistant at Cornell Cooperative Extension of Cayuga County
As we have seen or experienced, floods are unpredictable but a few precautions can prepare us for such events. Below are a few tips.
€ Learn local evacuation routes, know your communities warning signals and locate local emergency shelters.
€ Place emergency phone numbers at every phone in your house. Make sure that you have a family contact person in case you and your family become separated.
If this happens the family contact can be the meeting point. You may want the contact person to be a relative that lives out of state.
Also, make sure that everyone in your family knows the name, address, and phone number for this contact person.
€ Inform your local authorities about any special needs, such as the elderly or anyone with a disability.
€ Identify any potential home hazards and how to secure or protect them before a flood hits.
For example be prepared to shut off all electrical power and turn off all gas as well as water supplies before you evacuate.
€ Buy a fire extinguisher and keep it in the home. Be sure that everyone knows where it is kept and how to use it.
€ Create an emergency supply kit. Items the kit might consist of include: several clean containers of water that are large enough to last 3 to 5 days (about five gallons for each person).
A supply of non-perishable food and a non-electric can opener.
A first aid kit and a manual, prescription medicines and any special medical needs.
A battery-powered radio, flashlights, and extra batteries will be crucial as well as sleeping bags or extra blankets.
Water-purifying supplies, such as chlorine or iodine tablets or unscented, ordinary household chlorine bleach are a good idea to have.
If you have a baby, make sure you have baby food and/or prepared formula, diapers or other baby supplies.
Disposable cleaning cloths, such as #baby wipes# is a good idea for the whole family to use, and personal hygiene supplies, such as soap, toothpaste, sanitary napkins are important.
A car emergency kit that contains food, flares, booster cables, maps, tools, first aid would not hurt either.
€ Last but not least, when a storm hits listen to the radio or the television to keep up on the weather situation in your area and any information on what you should do in case of an emergency.
Beth Janes is the Americorps environmental education
assistant at Cornell Cooperative Extension of Cayuga County
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