Does Your Family Have an Emergency Plan if a Flood Strikes Your Area?

September 3, 2018

America’s PrepareAthon is a Campaign to Increase Preparedness

Tim Manning, Deputy Administrator for Protection and National Preparedness at FEMA and Roy Wright, FEMA’s Associate Administrator for Insurance and Mitigation

(Washington, D.C., Thursday, April 7, 2016) – America’s PrepareAthon is a campaign to increase the number of individuals who understand which disasters could happen in their community, what to do to be safe and mitigate damage, and how to take action to increase their preparedness and participate in community resilience planning.

Flooding can happen quickly with very little warning, and the effects can be devastating if you’re not prepared. There are a few important things you can do right now to make sure you’re ready for a possible flood.

Tim Manning, Deputy Administrator for Protection and National Preparedness at FEMA, talked recently about the importance of having an emergency plan in place. 

MANNING:

FLOODING CAN HAPPEN QUICKLY WITH VERY LITTLE WARNING, AND THE EFFECTS CAN BE DEVASTATING IF YOU’RE NOT PREPARED. THERE ARE A FEW IMPORTANT THINGS YOU CAN DO RIGHT NOW TO MAKE SURE YOU’RE READY FOR A POSSIBLE FLOOD.

IF YOU HAVE ONE, USE YOUR SMARTPHONE OR TABLET TO DOWNLOAD THE FEMA APP OR ANOTHER WEATHER APP IN YOUR AREA … AND MAKE SURE YOUR CELL PHONE RECEIVES WARNINGS FROM THE WIRELESS EMERGENCY ALERT SYSTEM.

KNOW YOUR EVACUATION ROUTES AHEAD OF TIME AND HAVE A BACK-UP IN CASE YOUR PRIMARY ROUTE IS FLOODED.  AND BE SURE TO LISTEN TO YOUR LOCAL AUTHORITIES FOR EVACUATION ORDERS IN YOUR AREA.

AND FINALLY, MAKE SURE TO KEEP COPIES OF YOUR INSURANCE DOCUMENTS, BIRTH CERTIFICATES, MEDICATIONS, AND OTHER IMPORTANT ITEMS IN A SAFE AND SECURE PLACE.

Roy Wright, FEMA’s Associate Administrator for Insurance and Mitigation, talked recently about taking steps now to prepare for emergencies. 

WRIGHT:

FLOODING IS THE MOST COMMON NATURAL DISASTER IN OUR COUNTRY, AND THE TIME TO PREPARE FOR A FLOOD IS BEFORE IT HAPPENS. THE GOOD THING IS THAT THERE ARE A FEW, SIMPLE THINGS YOU CAN DO TO PREPARE RIGHT NOW.

FIRST…UNDERSTAND THE FLOOD HAZARDS IN YOUR AREA.  VISIT FEMA’S MAPPING SERVICE CENTER, TYPE IN YOUR ADDRESS AND START LEARNING ABOUT THE FLOOD HAZARDS NEAR YOU.

SECOND…KEEP YOUR IMPORTANT DOCUMENTS IN A WATERPROOF BOX AND STORE BACKUP COPIES ON A USB DRIVE. YOU WANT THINGS LIKE BIRTH CERTIFICATES, INSURANCE POLICIES, MEDICAL RECORDS, TAX STATEMENTS AND OTHER CRITICAL DOCUMENTS YOU DON’T WANT TO LOSE.

AND FINALLY…MAKE SURE YOU’RE COVERED BY FLOOD INSURANCE. YOUR STANDARD HOME INSURANCE POLICY DOESN’T COVER FLOOD. SO PURCHASE TODAY. YOUR COVERAGE TAKES EFFECT 30 DAYS AFTER PURCHASE. SO IF YOUR HOME IS AT RISK FOR FLOODING…CALL YOUR AGENT TODAY.

For more information please visit community.fema.gov.

The campaign is coordinated by FEMA in collaboration with federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial governments, the private sector, and non-governmental organization.

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