Disaster Preparedness Committee
Flooding / Slides Information
Protracted or intense rains can cause flooding and earth cave-outs. Each homeowner should assess where his property might be vulnerable. As our area continues to develop this is becoming more critical as water passes through one property to another.
Disaster Impacts and Hazards
|
Wildland Fire |
Earthquake |
Flood / Slide |
Roads |
Some closures |
Many closures |
Some closures |
Fire Personnel |
Limited availability |
Limited availability |
- |
Police |
- |
Limited availability |
- |
Hospitals |
- |
Possible closure or lack of space |
- |
Phones
|
- Possible local disruption - |
- May be out (no power) or overloaded - May be overloaded |
- Possible local disruption - |
Utilities
|
- May need to shut off - Possible disruption |
- Lines may be broken; leaks - may need to shut off - May be out. Lines may be down, arcing |
- Line could be broken
|
Water |
Low or no pressure |
Low or no pressure; contamination |
- |
Fire |
Threat to property |
Threat to property |
- |
Sewers |
- |
- Could be broken, leaking |
- Storm drain / sewer plugging or overflow |
In the Home |
- Fire and/or smoke damage |
- Gas leaks (explosion, fire, suffocation) - Structure damage, instability |
- Water damage - Structure damage, instability |
Preparing
Inspect your property and become aware of how water flows across it. This may change because of new adjacent home construction or road work. You should take the initiative to install pipe, ditches, or other appropriate measures to protect your home from storm runoff, and also to shepherd the water so that it does not threaten neighbors. For example, if ditch water from a road empties onto your lot, you may need to install piping to conduct this water through your lot to a safe drainage point.
Protect your house with well-engineered retaining walls, with adequate drain pipe behind them.
Responding
Monitor your property during heavy rains.
If you detect incipient earth movement, place plastic sheeting over the area.