Disaster Preparedness: Floods, Earthquakes, Fires

This week was Flood Safety Awareness Week.  March 12 to 16, 2012.  Here's a look back at last year's blog on flood safety, and general natural disaster preparedness.  Read below.


Here's our article on whether you really need flood insurance for your home.
Disaster responses from insurance companies.


Need help preparing your evacuation / disaster supply kit?  Click HERE.
Here's our blog on "Bug-Out-Bags" after the 2011 power black-out.



re-print from our blog in 2011:

Image of Flooded roads in Utah
National Geographic

The events surrounding the earthquakes in Japan followed by tsunamis remind us how quickly, and drastically, our lives in California can change in moments.

March 14-18th is Flood Safety Awareness Week. The information provided often applies to all the disasters California can face like earthquakes and wildfires, not just flood.

"Flood Safety Awareness Week, sponsored by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and supported by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), was created to highlight the causes and consequences of flooding and educate communities on how to prepare for and protect their homes and businesses from the devastating effects of flooding." Source: http://www.floodsmart.gov/

If you're asking yourself, "Why would I worry about flood? I don't live in a high risk area."

Floodsmart.gov reminds us that "Nearly 25% of flood insurance claims come from moderate-to-low risk areas."

"But San Diego?"

Construction and development can change the natural drainage and create brand new flood risks. That's because new buildings, parking lots, and roads mean less land to absorb excess precipitation from heavy rains.

Anywhere it rains, it can flood. A flood is a general condition where two or more acres of normally dry land or two or more properties are inundated by water or mudflow. Many conditions can result in a flood: hurricanes, broken levees, melting snow as we enter spring, outdated or clogged drainage systems and rapid accumulation of rainfall.

"Just because you haven't experienced a flood in the past, doesn't mean you won't in the future. Flood risk isn't just based on history, it's also based on a number of factors: rainfall, river-flow and tidal-surge data, topography, flood-control measures, and changes due to building and development."