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Flood Response Tools

When a town or city floods, property is destroyed, people become trapped or isolated, and long-term damage is done to infrastructure. If your town is susceptible to flooding, it's important to have policies and procedures in place so that when flooding does occur, no time will be wasted figuring out the best way to respond. There are four tools that can greatly increase your town's chances of a complete recovery.

  1. SOPs

    • When a town is in the throes of an emergency, the last thing you want is to begin your emergency planning. Standard operating procedures, or SOPs, go a long way toward reducing wait time once a flood is underway. An SOP should include every foreseeable contingency, so that no matter what the circumstances of a particular flood, there will be a standard set of tasks implemented by the local authorities and community volunteers. For example, perhaps a designated group of people will use telephone trees or other communication techniques to notify all residents of the town.

    Emergency Services Group

    • In the event of a flood, it's necessary for a range of local officials to be available to lend their services in an organized way. Without these people, towns will be unable to efficiently deliver the essential services required. The emergency services group should include such people as city council members, the emergency coordinator, police and fire chiefs, the public information officer, representatives of local utilities and others.

    Sandbags

    • Using sandbags is an excellent temporary solution to flooding. By filling burlap sacks with sand and stacking them around a flooding river, it is possible to keep flood waters at bay long enough for them to drain away. Each bag should be filled by two people -- one holds the bag while the other fills. Be sure to flatten them out as much as possible so as to eliminate cracks.

    Motorboats

    • If your town is in danger of seasonal flooding, it's a good idea to have a fleet of motorboats on hand. In the event of a flood, it s easy for individuals and groups to become trapped on roofs or on floating debris. Motorboats can be used to rescue people from such circumstances. If a rescue is not possible for some reason, the boats may be used to deliver food, water and supplies until a rescue can be mounted.

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