Tag Archive: flood preparation

While it’s important for everyone to prepare for disasters, individuals living with a disability, or other access or functional needs, may need to take additional steps.

In “Prepare for Emergencies Now: Information for People with Disabilities,” FEMA outlines the following emergency preparation steps for people with disabilities:

1. Be informed – Know what types of emergencies are likely to affect your region.
2. Make a communications plan – Have a plan for keeping in touch with your network. Let them know where you will shelter or evacuate.
3. Build an emergency kit – Stock your kit with basic supplies as well as additional resources you may need, such as medical equipment, assistive technology, food for special diets, medicines, etc.
4. Get involved – Consider assisting emergency planners and others with community disaster preparation.

For individuals dependent on assistive technology devices, loss of electrical power can be a serious threat. Plan in advance for alternative ways of charging assistive devices before disaster strikes.

For more information on emergency preparedness for people with disabilities, watch FEMA’s video, “Preparing Makes Sense for People with Disabilities and Other Access and Functional Needs.”

Whether you have a disability or not, it’s important to do what you can to limit damage to your home from disasters. If your home is in an area susceptible to severe weather-related events, such as hurricanes or rapid snowmelt, consider installing flood vents in your home. Our FEMA compliant flood vents can make the difference between a home you can save, and a home you must tear down.

All our flood vents are made here in the U.S.A. For more information about our flood vents, contact Flood Solutions.

When considering what to have on hand during a flood emergency, most people think of flashlights, radios and food rations. While these are important, your cell phone is also an important tool in crisis situations. Cell phone text messages are often the most reliable way to connect with family and friends and get current information during a flood.

You don’t want to reach for your cell phone in an emergency only to discover it’s not working or can’t deliver the information you need. Here are a few tips for getting the most support from your cell phone when you really need it:

• Conserve the battery life of your phone. Keep it airplane mode when not in use, reduce the brightness level of your screen and close apps that automatically pull data.
• Have fully charged back-up batteries or a solar powered / hand cranked cell phone charger.
• Keep your cell phone contacts up to date and create a group for emergency contacts.
• Minimize network congestion by keeping phone calls short or (preferably) using text (SMS) messages or email. For the same reason, don’t watch streaming videos or download music or other large files.
• Keep at least one non-cordless landline phone at home. Cordless landline phones won’t work when the power is out.
• Consider using social media, such as Twitter or Facebook, as a quick way to update friends and family.

For more information on phone preparation and use during flooding or other emergencies, check out FEMA’s Get Tech Ready page.

In addition to getting your phones ready for a flood disaster, get your home ready as well. Flood vents allow flood water to pass through the basement of your home, alleviating disproportionate flood water pressure between the inside and outside. You’ll end up with a wet basement, but you’re less likely to suffer serious structural damage.

Flood Solutions’ FEMA compliant flood vents may save you money on your insurance premiums. For more information about our flood vents, contact us.

As usual, hurricane season brings a lot of national news coverage, and this season is no different.

As part of its coverage, ABC News recently posted a nice summary of disaster preparation tips. It includes the following:

1. Prepare for phone interruptions
2. Create and test your disaster plan
3. Check your insurance policies
4. Assess your house for vulnerabilities
5. Take a video or photos for a home inventory
6. Prepare supplies
7. Plan what to do with your pets

You can view the entire article on the ABC News website.

Part of assessing your house for vulnerabilities is considering the installation of flood vents. Our FEMA compliant flood vents can help maintain the structural integrity of your home should flooding occur. A wet basement is a small price to pay for a structurally sound home.

All of our FEMA compliant flood vents are made here in the U.S.A. For more information, give our flood vent experts a call.

Flooding can devastate businesses and homeowners alike; but there are some additional things to consider when dealing with floods and commercial properties. Here are some pointers to make sure you and your commercial property are prepared should flooding occur.

1. Know your level of flood risk. Check flood maps for your area and talk to local authorities. Sign up in advance to receive flood warnings. Keep in mind that flooding can happen not only as a result of hurricanes but also from snowmelt, levee failure and even burst pipes.
2. Make sure you have sufficient amounts of the right kind of insurance. Consider not only property damage but damage to inventory and business disruption.
3. Take preventative steps. It costs less to mitigate flood damage than to respond after the fact.
4. Develop an emergency plan. Take steps to minimize damage. Make sure staff and commercial tenants know what to do in case of flooding and have an evacuation plan in place.
5. Review landlord-tenancy agreements. Understand who is responsible for damage to personal items, inventory and business equipment from flooding.
6. Consider installing FEMA compliant flood vents. Floods vents are relatively inexpensive to purchase and install, and they can help maintain the structural integrity of your commercial property.

FEMA has a guide to help businesses and commercial property owners prepare for emergency situations. The Emergency Guide for Businesses and Industry is available for download.

All Flood Solutions flood vents are FEMA compliant. They can be installed into existing commercial properties or new developments. Contact the flood vent experts at Flood Solutions to learn more and keep your commercial property safe.

In an earlier blog post, we talked about how to create a family emergency plan in case of flooding or other disasters. While a family plan is important, it’s also important to have an emergency plan for your business. Business emergency plans help companies prepare for and recover from disasters.

Generally, developing an emergency plan for your business consists of the following steps:

1. Risk assessment. Identify possible risks to your business. What events could limit sales or stop production? Which events would have the most impact?
2. Strategy development. What strategies could help prevent these events or lessen their impact?
3. Action plan development. Determine how to put some of these strategies in place. Who will do what? Which strategies have highest priority?
4. Update and review. Your business emergency plan is a living document. Periodically review and update it as your business changes.

Small businesses are especially vulnerable to disruption because they have fewer resources and less financial backing to absorb losses. Fortunately, Ready.gov has templates available for business continuity planning and emergency response planning to make the process easier. By working through these templates and implementing each step, the chances of your business successfully surviving a disaster or emergency will be greatly improved.

If you’re not sure how prepared your business is to deal with and overcome flooding or other emergencies, the American Red Cross has an online emergency preparedness self-assessment tool to measure the emergency preparedness of organizations. The test is free, but you’ll need to register.

Flood vent installation is an important part of emergency planning for many families and businesses. Flood Solutions FEMA compliant flood vents are easy to install in homes and commercial/industrial buildings. For more information about making flood vents part of your emergency plans, contact the flood vent team at Flood Solutions.

How will you get information if your home or community is threatened with severe weather or flooding? This is something to plan for before emergencies arise. Here are a few ideas on where to get up-to-the-minute information of floods, severe weather and other threats. Take the time to bookmark, subscribe, download or follow these information sources now.

The National Weather Service

Part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the National Weather Service provides weather forecasts and warnings for all of the United States. The National Weather Service website has maps and forecasts, including winter storm watch, flood watch and hazardous weather outlooks. You can sign up for NOAA email alerts and RSS feeds for weather warnings. You can specify the types of weather warnings you’d like to receive – everything from tsunami warnings to automated flood warning systems.

NOAA also operates the NOAA Weather Radio All Hazards. This nationwide network of radio stations broadcasts continuous weather and emergency information. You must purchase a special radio receiver or scanner to pick up their broadcast signals.

The Weather Channel

The Weather Channel also has weather alert services. You can get information from their website or sign up for email alerts, SMS alerts and even voice alerts.  They also have apps for mobile and tablet devices.

Local News Channels

Local radio and television news channels are another good source of weather and emergency information. Take a look at each channel’s website and see if they have email alerts or Twitter feeds for weather related news. For example, WMUR in New Hampshire has email and SMS alert services for hurricane warnings.

State and Local Officials

Responsibility for local flood and severe weather warnings lies with states and local communities. FEMA has an interactive map that can help you see what state and local community resources are available.

For example, if you select Virginia on FEMA’s map, you’ll find that the Virginia Department of Emergency Management has a Twitter feed dedicated to hazards within the state and local regions.

In addition to signing up for flood and severe weather alerts, installing flood vents is another smart thing to do before floods occur. Flood Solutions’ FEMA compliant flood vents can help preserve the integrity of your home and their heavy-duty aluminum construction means they’ll never rust. Contact Flood Solutions to learn more.

March 12-17 was National Flood Safety Awareness Week. During this week, government and emergency response organizations draw attention to flood hazards and encourage people to take steps now to minimize the impact of future floods.

One of the best ways to protect your family during a flood is to have a family emergency plan. It’s hard to make smart decisions in the midst of an emergency where fear and panic can take over. Developing a plan in advance can you’re your family get through an emergency safely and comfortably.

A family emergency plan details what you and your family will do before, during and after an emergency. FEMA’s Preparing Makes Sense video describes why a family emergency plan is so important.

FEMA also has a downloadable family emergency plan template. It prompts you to select out-of-town contacts, meeting places and evacuation locations as well as record contact information for family members, work locations and schools.

Complete the plan with your family and keep a copy in your emergency kit along with your emergency supplies. Be sure to update the plan periodically.

Although protecting the lives of you and your family is paramount, you can also take steps to protect your home. Flood vents help protect the foundational integrity of your home by allowing flood waters to flow through. Take a look at our complete line of FEMA compliant flood vents. Contact Flood Solutions to learn more.

Flooding and other disasters aren’t just an adult problem – they affect children too. As with all emergencies, the best approach is to involve children (at an age appropriate level) in getting prepared.

There are many resources available online to help children and their families prepare for an emergency, such as flooding. FEMA’s Ready Kids takes children through a step-by-step process to know the facts, make a plan, build an emergency kit and then graduate from “Readiness U.” It provides topics to discuss at family meetings, such as how family members will get in touch with each other if separated during an emergency. The site also includes games and fun activities to initiate discussion and answer questions.

Discovery Education has a site on emergency preparedness for teachers, students and families, complete with a map to track severe weather. It has a downloadable emergency plan worksheet and supply kit checklist and videos classified by grade level about extreme weather and emergency planning.

For younger children, Sesame Street has Let’s Get Ready!, another emergency planning site. It covers important things that even young children should know, such as their parents’ full names, addresses and phone numbers. According to Grover, preparing for a large-scale emergency is no different than preparing for other potentially dangerous activities, like riding a bicycle. If it makes sense to wear a helmet, it makes sense to develop an emergency plan.

Is your family ready for flooding or other disasters? Putting together an emergency plan and kit is a great way to prepare your children (and yourself) for the unexpected.

Make Flood Solutions’ FEMA compliant flood vents part of your flood preparation plans. Contact Flood Solutions to learn more.

You love your home, and you want to stay in your current location. So what do you do when rising river levels put your home in jeopardy? Homeowners living along some stretches of the Chesapeake and Mississippi rivers are asking themselves this question. For some, the best solution is to mitigate flood damage by elevating their homes.

Elevating your home is not a cheap or easy solution. But in some cases, it costs less than tearing down and building elsewhere. Although elevating your home can seem a little scary – there’s nothing like seeing your beloved home suspended on stilts – elevation techniques are proven, and there are many qualified contractors. An elevated home may also qualify for reduced flood insurance premiums. In some cases, financial assistance may be available to flood insurance policyholders. You can see how one family went through the home elevation process in this FEMA video.

An important part of home elevation is to install openings in the foundation – so flood waters can flow underneath the home. After all, there’s no point in raising a home if rising waters will cause structural damage to the foundation. One of the easiest ways to let water flow in and out is flood vents.

Flood Solutions has several FEMA compliant flood vent models to choose from. Constructed of heavy-duty aluminum, our flood vents are perfect for installation into existing openings. Contact Flood Solutions to learn more about our complete line of FEMA compliant flood vents.