Don’t get washed away by a flood or tsunami.
Before to the devastating Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004 that resulted in the deaths of more than 230,000 people in 14 bordering countries, many people knew very little about this phenomenon, especially in the Western Hemisphere.
A series of waves caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, a tsunami’s impact is limited to coastal areas, but the resulting flooding can have enormous destructive power. Although they have nothing to do with tides, tsunamis are more likely to look like a rising tide as they roll toward shore than they are a typical wave. Scientists still have much to learn about tsunamis, including why some smaller ocean earthquakes can cause larger tsunamis than some larger ocean earthquakes.
We in North America rarely encounter tsunamis, but most of us are familiar with flooding problems. Included in U.S. flooding history have been the Johnstown Flood of 1889 that killed 2,200 in Pennsylvania, the Mississippi River Flood of 1927 that resulted in 246 deaths across 10 states and the Ohio River Flood in 1937 that killed 385 in six states.
Fortunately, more recent flooding in the U.S. has resulted in far fewer deaths, but it has still caused significant damage to homes, businesses, sewage systems, roadways, bridges and crops, and has produced widespread power outages.
Having an emergency response plan in place in the event of a tsunami or flooding is important. Your 72-hour survival kit and bug-out bags should be prepared in advance, and your important documents should be organized.
Preparation is the key. Following are 4 things you can do before flooding or a tsunami occurs in order to be better prepared:
- Visit the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s flood map site to discover whether you are in a flood plain and where the nearest high ground is located.
- If you are a property owner, especially in an area prone to flooding, make sure you have sufficient flood insurance.
- Make sure you have an emergency radio that tunes into reports from the National Oceanic Atmospheric Asministration.
- Practice your escape plan with your family. Going through the motions now will help when the time comes for the real thing.
If flooding has already started or a tsunami seems to be on the way, here are 4 steps you can take to protect yourself and your family:
- Because you may need to move to higher ground on short notice, tune into emergency radio and be ready to move quickly.
- If you’re driving and you see standing water ahead, stop. Six inches of water is enough to stall out most cars, and it may be deeper than it appears. Same thing if you’re on foot. Fast moving water can carry people off. Stay away from streams, sewer drains and drainage canals.
- Know the difference between a flood warning and a flood watch. If the situation appears to be worsening, stop what you’re doing and get to higher ground right away.
- If there is time to evacuate your home, turn off all of your valves, unplug appliances and move your most expensive items to the highest possible point of your home.
Following the flood or tsunami threat, take the following 4 actions, keeping in mind that the threat may only seem to be over:
- Don’t walk into any standing water. There could be objects in the water that you can’t see, including electrical wires.
- Continue to listen to emergency radio. You may be informed of a secondary threat of which you were not aware.
- Keep your eyes focused on potential hazards, including broken glass, downed power lines, ruptured gas lines and damaged structures. And keep in mind that standing floodwater could be contaminated by gas, oil, sewage or chemicals.
- Remain away from the area until city authorities declare that it is safe to return.
I do not have to worry about flooding so far as my house is concerned for it sits high and dry and it would take a literal “flood of Biblical dimensions” to flood it out. I do however have to be mindful of being cut off by flood water blocking or cutting my access to or from my house so that is where I place the emphasis so far as “prepping” for floods is concerned.
Even though I have 7 day go bags ready for my family, I tell the folks I talk to that you need to start somewhere and a 72 hour bag is good place to start. I can’t believe how many people I know have nothing prepared “Just in case”. That “it happens to other people not me” attitude is going to hurt a lot of my friends when something happens. I can guess whos’ door they will be knocking on.
Water, water everywhere and not a drop to drink! When any flood occurs, drinking water supplies usually will become contaminated. Water filters like a Berkey can be priceless in a flood situation. We have several and always have one available when traveling.
Your body can’t go without H2O!
Good job, Todd!!! Excellent comment!
Cudos- You’re the first I have heard in a LONG time detail the inherent stupidity of a “72-hour” kit; it should be obvious to the most casual observer that 3 days is NOT ENOUGH; a minimum of 7 days must be allowed for, counting food and water and other necessities. Our “Gubber-mint” CANNOT be depended on to react or help at ANY time, much less when you/we most need it.
I have to raise a huge objection: WHY do we need to continuously use the Japanese word “Tsunami” to substitute for our English-Language version: “Tidal Wave”? The Japanese term is NOT more “scientifically accurate”, and I have a problem emulating a society in which ritualistic suicide is still considered an honorable and acceptable alternative to facing one’s problems …. as well as the fact, that over a year after their terrible earthquake and TIDAL WAVE, they STILL have not gotten off the dime and taken care of their nuclear problem in Fukushima, instead dumping tons of radioactive debris into the ocean and sky, infecting even us over here.
One last ‘mini’rant’: Gotta say – the concern over ocean levels rising and the probability of a HUGE tidal wave on either coast is what keeps me safely ensconced in the Rocky Mountains. We may have other problems, but by and large we can deal with those…it’s really tough to avoid a mountain of water coming at you with the speed of sound.
Aloha Frank,
I have survived 6 of these tsunamis in four years and it’s amazing how so many residents here still rely on the word of mouth to get their information about bulletins,advisories,watches and warnings about tsunamis. I personally own a couple of weather radios that have AM,FM,SW1,SW2 and of course,the NOAA channels too but I will only buy radios that have the S.A.M.E. alerts. Each time the DEM and State Civil Defense puts out an alert,my radios in my bedroom and in my living room goes off. I’ve had these go off in the middle of the night while I was sleeping to inform me of an impending tsunami Watch or Warning and in cases like these,they are worth every single penny.
I don’t agree with the 72-hour survival kit,for it’s been a standard for a five day kit for a long time now. Actually,here in the islands,we use to say,5 days for the mainland and 7 days for Hawaii but since 2009,we have been trying to encourage the residents here to have a five month supply of food & water for a number of reasons due to all these tsunamis. We have been looking at the scenario of what would happen to us here if California finally does have that big earthquake or when we eventually get that big destructive tsunami and destroys the ports that all of our food and daily supplies goes through.
You also have to admit that our governments response time and FEMA’s hasn’t been all that great since Hurricane Katrina. History tends to repeat itself and our folks in Washington still don’t get it. It is entirely up to us to be prepared for disasters. Take a poll of your readers and how many of them has actually gone through the trouble of packing “Go Bags” for each family member plus one for kitchen/food supplies and another just for medical supplies? Yes,it’s a lot of work at first but well,well worth the peace of mind that you are more prepared than the average citizen. Doing this is not suppose to make you feel elite,it’s suppose to make you feel that you’ve completed your obligation to yourself,your family and your neighbors. They say that during disasters,expect company. Really,are you going to turn down your closest neighbors when they ask you for help? Just remember,during disasters,you need your neighbors for security and for help. It’s a fact that when neighbors look out for each other,it’s less likely that any of you will become victims by those who did not prepare or are just taking advantage of a bad situation after a disaster, safety in numbers is key.
There are many new products out there today including your iphones with downloadable apps that will help you during a disaster and as you know,it only requires a few minutes of your time. Also,the prices for solar panels and portable wind generators are lowest prices they’ve ever been and you are able to get several great models for under $80 nowadays and a small inverter can be had for under $50 on ebay. This is more than sufficient for charging cell phones and car batteries,yes,a car battery will provide enough reading light to get some cooking done and to make your family feel safe. It’s well worth the comfort of knowing that you can survive in the long term and keep the stress levels for the entire family. “Get ready today,be prepared tomorrow” is a good motto to live by in the world we live in today. We all suspect that something is going on with our weather patterns over the last ten years and I honestly can’t foresee that getting any better. Being prepared for disasters in now the new norm and being prepared also allows us more time during disasters to help those we love and to get many things done that you just can’t see at hand right now. Whether it’s boarding up the windows or preparing jugs of drinking water or just doing some last minute shopping,the more prepared you are,the more time you will have for the important stuff that will suddenly need to be addressed.
How prepared are you really?
Amen!
People are just not thinking….
it is still unbelievable but people are showing up at emergency shelters without any supplies, no food, no chairs/cots or blankets ..
And if you think being in an emergency shelter is a good place to be – think again. There will be all types of people with all types of diseases and problems (including mental). Katrina taught us the dangers of shelters if nothing else. There are lots of people, no security, no protection, no privacy, no “government” stepping in to help us when we had no thought to help ourselves first.
And if you don’t practice these skills and scenarios before the event, you are not truly prepared. There are always surprises. There are always challenges, and there are always failures of equipment, knowledge, and supplies. Don’t leave it to someone else to take care of you !!!
Many of the preparations are really not very expensive and you can find many things at used stores at a fraction of the cost new. Portable food and water (&/or water purification) are 2 of the most important things to have ready because they will be in the most demand and the most difficult to get in an emergency. Practice is where you find the holes in your plan and your preps. Practice !