Flood
Preparedness
Are You Prepared For The Next
Flood?
Were you prepared for the Flood of June 9, 2010? The Guadalupe River
provides us with beautiful surroundings and recreation, but it
can also turn into a raging torrent within hours when heavy
rainfalls combine with the steep terrain upstream. Not knowing
what to do can cost your life!
Here is a good web site to track hurricanes. You can zoom in and out by
using your roll function on your mouse, drag the map around and roll over
one of the icons on the map and see more specific data for that location.
Give it a minute to load or delete the advertisement. www.ibiseye.com
Are you familiar with past flooding in your
neighborhood? If not, talk to your long time neighbors.
The flood of 1998 is the worst we have experienced since
Canyon Lake was built, but an even higher flood is still
possible.
Do you have a plan for what to do when the next flash
flood threatens?
Do you know what the emergency sirens mean?
Do you know how river flows in cubic feet per second
(CFS) relate to flooding in your area?
Do you know where to get information during a flood
event?
The Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority (GBRA) has prepared
and recently updated the Interim Flood Preparedness
Plan and a flood guide, Staying Safe. These can be
downloaded HERE or go
by GBRA at 933 East Court Street in Seguin to pick up printed
copies. These contain critical information to help you
safeguard your property and your family. More information is available by clicking on the link at the bottom of this page.
You must personally determine when safety
precautions and even evacuations are necessary for you at your
individual location.
We strongly recommend that all waterfront property owners
and all who are affected by high water events use
multiple means of communication to keep themselves
informed. These multiple sources of information include:
- TV, regular and cable�weather forecasts,
news, crawl notices and warnings;
- Weather radar on multiple websites, such as
on mysanantonio.com
- NOAA Weather Radio�weather advisories,
watches and warnings;
- KWED, 1580 AM�continuous coverage in
emergencies;
- High Speed Call-Up System from the
Guadalupe EMC�it "reads" "Emergency Call" on your caller ID;
so don�t hang up;
- Flood Sirens� steady tone (this siren
rotates so listen closely) at 10,000 CFS and wailing tone
(goes up and down) at 20,000 CFS; (tested every Saturday
around Noon).
Don�t depend on just one source of information�use
multiple sources. The worst thing you can do is call
police and fire departments, GBRA and other groups which are
monitoring and providing emergency services during disasters.
You will tie up their telephones and manpower, slowing down
their response to those who are in immediate need of emergency
assistance.
Another little known fact is that many cell phone towers
are not backed up by battery power. This means that if power
fails in an area, cell phone reception may also be down.
Have a high water evacuation plan in place with your
family. Predetermine a meeting location should you be
separated in an emergency. Don�t forget your pets need a
shelter also.
Recent floods and tornadoes in
the Mid-West and South remind us that disasters can strike at any time. We have had our share of flooding along the Guadalupe River and probably will again in the
future. While our flood events are not
near the scale of what has taken place elsewhere, it can be just a devastating for individuals
directly affected. Here are some tips
to dealing with disasters mentally after they strike:
Things to remember when
trying to understand disaster events
* No one who sees a disaster
is untouched by it.
* It is normal to feel anxious
about you and your family's safety.
* Profound sadness,
grief and anger are normal reactions to an abnormal event.
* Acknowledging your feelings
helps you recover.
* Focusing on your
strengths and abilities will help you to heal.
* Accepting help from community
programs and resources is healthy.
* We each have
different needs and different ways of coping.
* It is common to want to
strike back at people who have caused great pain. However, nothing good is
accomplished by hateful language or actions.
Ways to ease the stress
* Talk with someone about your
feelings-anger, sorrow and other emotions-even though it may be
difficult.
* Don't hold yourself
responsible for the disastrous event or be frustrated because you feel that you
cannot help directly in the rescue work.
* Take steps to promote your
own physical and emotional healing by staying active in your daily life
patterns or by adjusting them. This healthy outlook will help yourself and your
family. (i.e., healthy eating, rest, exercise, relaxation,
meditation.)
* Maintain a normal
household and daily routine, limiting demanding responsibilities of yourself
and your family.
* Spend time with family and
friends.
* Participate in
memorials, rituals and use of symbols as a way to express feelings.
* Use existing support groups
of family, friends and church.
* Establish a family
emergency plan. Feeling that there is something that you can
do can be very comforting.
Source: The Center for Mental
Health Services, U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services
For more information
check out This Link.
How
Does The Flood of 2010 Compare?
GBRA
reports that the water flow at the McQueeney Dam peaked at 46,000 cfs
(cubic feet per second). That places the flood level above the 2004
level, approaching the 2002 level. For comparison, the 1998 flood was
over 200,000 cfs. The good news is this flood was of much shorter
duration than the one in 2002.
Normal water flow can range from about 200 to 5000 cfs.
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