There's a flood on the way. How do I best prepare?

TetraNitroCubane

Recently the county in which I live has been issuing rather alarming emergency warnings about impending flooding. Apparently the mountains above the county are packed with more snow than they've seen in the last two decades, and the relatively cool spring we've had has prevented gradual melting. This week there's an expectation of high temperatures, meaning all the snow is likely to melt at once, leading to severe flooding. I'm not sure if it's going to be as devastating as they're claiming, but the emergency warnings are comparing the flood to a nasty one that did a lot of damage more than a decade ago.

I live in an apartment complex, on the first floor, next to a running stream. I've no idea how to tell if I'm at risk (i.e., if this stream is fed by the rivers that will be saturated from the snow runoff), but I'm starting to get a little worried. Though it may not be related to the current situation, FEMA and municipal flood plain maps put my apartment right at the edge of a high risk area. I'm not sure what steps I ought to take to ensure that things are best prepared for the event of a nasty flood.

Obviously I'm going to elevate all of my valuables, get my computer off the floor, and plastic wrap/tarp over anything that might be potentially damaged. What I'm not sure of is what to do beyond this. Do I need to cut off the power? Can I do that from the breakers in my apartment? Do I need to do the same thing with the gas, and if so, how do I do that? When it comes to sandbagging, is that something I need to purchase myself, or as a tenant in an apartment complex should my landlord be providing the sandbags? Are there any important measures I should take in preparation for a potential flood?

Things haven't gotten serious yet, but from what I understand it could happen soon and happen quickly. Any advice anyone could provide would be very much appreciated.

th3thirdman

I would call your landlord and ask if he has a plan. I would also can the municipal people(not sure what to call them) and ask if they recommended and actions. If the flood looks like it is coming your way you might want to get renters insurance ASAP. Make sure is has flood. You might want to get a Dehumidifier. If it floods and you need it you will be glad you have it if you don't you can return it unopened, if you wait for a flood the store might run out.
Bottle water as much as you can store safely. So times floods cause issues with local water supplies. make sure you have batterys in you flash lights. Really just some basics you should already have.

khain

Normal renter's insurance does not cover flooding and the only provider of flood insurance is the US government I believe though you should be able to get the policy through your local agent. I also believe that there is a 30 day waiting period where you don't have coverage so if you want to get coverage then you need to do it asap since you can't do it last minute.

Skoal Cat

Might not be right for your situation, but PopMech has a How To Build a Home Made Levee article that would be worth a read
http://www.popularmechanics.com/home/skills/how-to-build-a-homemade-levee?click=pm_news

TetraNitroCubane

The insurance issue is pretty much as khain explains. I've got renter's insurance, but it specifically does not cover flood damage. The only insurance available does require 30 days to activate, so for the current situation it's not applicable, though I am thinking about it long term.

Thanks very much for the ideas. I hadn't even thought about a dehumidifier, nor the rush that's bound to happen on them. Flashlights and bottled water sound like an excellent idea as well, as I'm not sure what the impact on local infrastructure is going to be. I'm certainly calling my landlord tomorrow to see what, if anything, is planned for preparations.

Unfortunately, I'm not sure I have the approval to build a levee, since I don't own the property and would feel odd digging up the ground... But believe me, if I could, I'd be following those instructions.

Thanatos

If you live anywhere that has the remotest chance of actually flooding, it is basically impossible to get flood insurance, doubly so on short notice.

Find out if your landlord/equivalent of the CCC will be providing sand and sandbags, if you're in a position to shore yourself up against the water. If you're really concerned, you may be able to chip in with other renters and buy a truckload of sand, but that may be going overboard.

Call whatever your local government office in charge of disasters is; probably with the city or county, maybe the state. They can probably help you out, give you more information.

Bendery It Like Beckham

Next best thing to a levee would be a sand bag fort. It is a lot of work and a lot of sand, but if you can stack it waist high around all your apartment openings it would be pretty effective at keeping the water out, just if you stack high make sure you also stack behind it to create support for the kind of pressure that the water will be putting on the wall. More stepped, less stacked I suppose.

Everyone will look at you like you're crazy probably... but you will be protected from water in the end. Right?

nuka

Can you rent a hotel? Got a friend that lives on a hill? Pack your valuables and spend the night there. You may not be able to return to your apartment if the damage is bad enough. Do you have any experience with floods? Do not drive in water that's deeper than 6 inches. Floods can come in faster and stronger than you might think.

If your apartment is severely damaged, be on the lookout for mold spores as well. If your place smells like the woods suddenly, high tail it out of there and get some professionals to clean it.

schuss

Also, since you live in an apartment, see if there's anyone on an upper floor who will let you store some of your stuff?

Imriaylde

If you don't own the land around your residence, I'd suggest against attempting to build anything. Without proper compaction; odds are anything you'd build would just get washed away, and there's a possibility that you could inadvertently cause damage to other people's property if you divert the water their way.

Best plan would be what Bendery said, to try to line your doors/any possible entrances for water with sandbags. Pack up everything of value, take it with you, and don't ignore evacuation warnings. Water can be extremely deadly and flood waters can be extremely treacherous. You've got advance warning; make use of it.

Thanatos

Bendery It Like Beckham wrote: »

Next best thing to a levee would be a sand bag fort. It is a lot of work and a lot of sand, but if you can stack it waist high around all your apartment openings it would be pretty effective at keeping the water out, just if you stack high make sure you also stack behind it to create support for the kind of pressure that the water will be putting on the wall. More stepped, less stacked I suppose.

Everyone will look at you like you're crazy probably... but you will be protected from water in the end. Right?

If you're worried about waist-high waters, it's time to give up on the "I'll just put up some sandbags" idea, and better to just jam everything you own into your car and get to higher ground.

Chases Street Demons

My wife's family lives in one of the areas near Sioux Falls that floods yearly. They literally build a sandbag fort, but that takes thousands of sandbags and an insane amount of labor. The thing here is that it doesn't appear as though you have that same option - even if you wanted to build something like that you don't have the time or materials.

Take a fast look at self-storage places. I know a few carry their own flood insurance - you might be able to store some super valuables there and take the cash hit. If that's a no go, I would suggest getting valuables out ahead of time. Waist high flooding ruins just about everything in an apartment. It'll be up over the tables and every flat surface.

You usually have a few hours notice, but get out if they call an evac.

exis

If you end up staying, pack some essentials in case you need to hightail it at a moments notice. Flashlight, water, food, warm clothes etc.

TetraNitroCubane

First, thanks to everyone for your advice. There's a lot of good points here, and I'm certainly going to take them to heart. The first sign of really serious water flow, and I'm going to be packing up my car and heading to higher ground as quick as I can. Or just getting in the car and leaving, depending on the severity of the situation. Having never been in a flood like this, I'm going to proceed with caution.

I called my landlord this morning regarding the potential for the stream near my apartment to become flooded. According to him, he's been in contact with the city and been told that we're in a no-risk situation for the runoff that's likely to hit once the snow melts. Sandbagging is, therefore, not planned. I'm a bit skeptical, seeing as FEMA maps disagree with this assessment and place the property in a high-risk flood plain. I'm still going to elevate things as much as I can, and plan on stockpiling some supplies (which is a good thing to do in any event, anyway). If push comes to shove, I think I can bring my valuables into my workplace, which is on the third floor of a building.

So, hopefully the city's assessment of risk is correct, but in the interim I'm still keeping myself aware of the circumstances and playing it safe. Thanks again for all the advice.

tarnok

TetraNitroCubane wrote: »

The first sign of really serious water flow, and I'm going to be packing up my car and heading to higher ground as quick as I can. Or just getting in the car and leaving, depending on the severity of the situation.

I don't recommend this. Get out ahead of the flooding if you plan to move at all. Once the water starts coming it can come very fast and the last thing you want is to be floating away in your car. Ok, the next to last thing. The _last_ thing you want is to drive over what looks like a stretch of flat road and end up under seven or eight feet of water. If you cannot see the road it is unsafe to traverse it.

If you find you absolutely must drive anywhere while flood waters are coming in keep your window rolled down. It's impossible to open a car door against water pressure even before the entire door is covered by the water. If you window is down you can let the pressure equalize or just climb out the window to escape.

Keep in mind that this is not a minor annoyance. People can and do die in floods. If an evacuation is called for, get out.

oldsak

Maybe make a habit of storing valuables that would be damaged by water in water tight bags in case you can't take them with you.

Niceguy Myeye

Do you have a bug out bag prepared yet? Even if you don't need to evacuate, it may be a good idea to put one to

Here's a link to Red Cross Disaster Preparedness kit.

Some things that you don't want to overlook:

Medications that you may be on.
Copies of important documents.
Cash.
Spare Charger for your cell phone.
Extra set of clothes.

If you have anyone you may need to identify or find later, it'll be good to have photos of what they look like too.

Shadowfire

Do you have any pets? Because if so, you should have their crates out and ready to go. As mentioned earlier, flood waters can come up very quickly, so you may need to high-tail it, and you certainly don't want to leave them behind.

MrMonroe

move everything of value that you cannot justify taking in an emergency exit up off the first floor and put together the things you cannot justify leaving along with all your first aid, food, and WATER supplies, (yes, water, don't drink the flood waters, they're going to be chock fucking full of pollutants, which is why you should be careful returning afterwards as well if there is flooding) and put them all in an easy to reach place. If you have a canoe or other boat, this is the time to get it out of storage and bring it up to the roof.

Do not attempt to protect your house individually from flooding by building a sandbag wall or some such nonsense. You will fail and regret the time wasted not preparing your safe evacuation.

Good luck and safe passages.

Oh and be super careful around the police and any emergency workers not bearing a medic's insignia. They probably do not have your best interests at heart.