How to Prevent & Prepare for a Potential Flood

Prepare a disaster plan. This should be done before the threat of a flood ever strikes. Figure out where you will go if a flood threatens your home, where all of your insurance information is and how you can easily access it, what you can take and what you must leave behind and any prevention methods you might have to protect your home and business, such as sandbags or manmade ditches around your structure. Get it all down on paper so you have a point of reference when disaster stikes.

Purchase resource materials well in advance. In fact, it pays to stock up on emergency supplies well in advance of an anticipated flood threat. Purchase sandbags, digging materials (in the event you need to dig a trench around your home or business), water, flashlights, batteries, a weather radio and anything else that you might need to survive a natural disaster.

Pack an emergency bag. This bag should be stored in a secure, easily accessible location. It should contain blankets, a few changes of clothing, non-perishable food, first aid and necessary medical supplies (such as important medications, asthma inhalers and items of that nature), cash, supplies needed for pets and anything you else you need to survive independently.

Plan your evacuation route early. You can utilize the GPS on your cell phone, but keep a traditional map handy in the event that your electronic options fail. Plan at least two different routes in the event that flood is headed in the direction of one of your planned routes.

Place sandbags around your home or business if flooding is an immediate threat. Depending on the depth of the water, you may need to stack sandbags several feet high. You might also dig a trench around your structure to attempt to keep the water from entering. However, make sure you understand that water is one of the most destructive forces on earth and in the event of a flood, sometimes sandbags are no match for the water's ferociousness.

Move everything to higher ground. If you have an attic or top floor in your home, move as many of your possessions up there as possible. Chances are, if the flood is not too extreme, there is a chance to at least save portions of your home or some of your belongings.