Archive for the ‘Flood’ Category
Turn Around Don’t Drown®
Thursday, October 13th, 2016Each year, more deaths occur due to flooding than from any other thunderstorm related hazard. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that over half of all flood-related drownings occur when a vehicle is driven into hazardous flood water. The next highest percentage of flood-related deaths is due to walking into or near flood waters. People underestimate the force and power of water. Many of the deaths occur in automobiles as they are swept downstream. Of these drownings, many are preventable, but too many people continue to drive around the barriers that warn you the road is flooded.
A mere 6 inches of fast-moving flood water can knock over an adult.
It takes just 12 inches of rushing water to carry away a small car, while 2 feet of rushing water can carry away most vehicles.
It is NEVER safe to drive or walk into flood waters.
| Yellow Warning Sign
The yellow warning sign, right, “When Flooded, Turn Around Don’t Drown®” complies with Federal Highway Administration (FHA) standards and is intended for deployment as a permanent road sign. Warning signs alert drivers of a possible danger ahead, such as when it may be necessary to slow down and stop, or a road hazard or special situation may be ahead. Details on producing this Turn Around Don’t Drown® warning sign are available here. The “When Flooded, Turn Around Don’t Drown®” warning sign should be deployed at locations where the incidence of flooding is high, the onset of flooding is rapid, and/or it is not practical to deploy incident signs in a timely manner. NWS offices are encouraged to work with officials in their local areas in promoting use of this sign to save lives and property. Warning signs have a black legend (i.e., lettering and outer border) and a yellow background (RGB color 255:208:69 or Pantone 116). More detailed guidance on use of warning signs can be found in Chapter 2C of the MUTCD.® |
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Pink Incident Sign
The FHA, with its Letter of Support, has encouraged use of the phrase “Flooding Ahead Turn Around Don’t Drown®” as an official incident management road sign (pink) following FHA specifications. Get details on producing this Turn Around Don’t Drown® incident sign. Incident management signs are a specific type of Temporary Traffic Control (TTC) sign deployed in response to short-term events which impede the normal flow of traffic such as accidents, natural disasters, hazardous material spills, or other unplanned incidents. The “Flooding Ahead Turn Around Don’t Drown®” incident management sign is intended for use at locations where stream waters flooding across a road have made passage dangerous. The location may be a road which dips down to the level of a stream channel or a bridge or culvert which cannot pass high flood flows. Incident management signs are intended for mounting on temporary sign holders such as the one shown above. They should not be mounted on construction barricades. This type of incident sign has a black legend (i.e., lettering and outer border) and a fluorescent pink background (RGB color 255:40:140 or Pantone 232). More detailed guidance on incident signs can be found in Section 6I in Part 6 of the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD). |
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NWS: Major river flooding (some record) will continue in eastern North Carolina and South Carolina due to last weekend’s heavy rain.
Thursday, October 13th, 2016
Effects of climate change on sea-level rise and hurricane activity on NYC: Water could surge some 9 feet in hurricanes occurring anywhere from 3 to 17 times more often than today
Wednesday, October 12th, 2016Beware the call to evacuate: The worst damage occurred inland, in places that might typically be refuges for people fleeing the coasts.
Tuesday, October 11th, 2016“…..Evacuations are not easy. Businesses lose money. Residents, many already exhausted from nailing plywood over windows, have to come up with an evacuation plan. Do they impose on relatives? Do they pay for a hotel, if they can even find one? Do they go to emergency shelters, typically uncomfortable and averse to pets……Then there are those who want to evacuate but have no easy way to do so: people without cars, people who do not speak English well and may not understand directions on how to leave, older people, those with disabilities. Even tourists, who often know no one locally, can be at a loss on what to do…..”
Legend description:
- Occurring or Imminent – Significant flooding is already occurring or is forecast to occur during the outlook period.
- Likely – Weather conditions indicate that significant flooding can be expected during the outlook period.
- Possible – Weather conditions indicate that significant flooding could occur. Such flooding is neither certain nor imminent
The full extent of the disaster in North Carolina was still unclear, but it appeared that thousands of homes were damaged, and more were in danger of flooding.
Tuesday, October 11th, 2016“….The storm killed more than 500 people in Haiti and at least 23 in the U.S. — nearly half of them in North Carolina. At least three people were missing……”
In the aftermath of Matthew: Rescuers are scrambling to save 1,500 people stranded by flooding in the eastern North Carolina city of Lumberton.
Monday, October 10th, 2016Matthew’s Zika Threat: As the waters from Hurricane Matthew began to recede, Adult mosquitoes that survive will lay new eggs near standing water that will hatch over and grow over the next week.
Monday, October 10th, 2016Significant River Flood Outlook
Monday, October 10th, 2016
Legend description:
- Occurring or Imminent – Significant flooding is already occurring or is forecast to occur during the outlook period.
- Likely – Weather conditions indicate that significant flooding can be expected during the outlook period.
- Possible – Weather conditions indicate that significant flooding could occur. Such flooding is neither certain nor imminent.
- Storm surge is the abnormal rise of water generated by a storm’s winds. This hazard is historically the leading cause of hurricane related deaths in the United States. Storm surge and large battering waves can result in large loss of life and cause massive destruction along the coast.
- Storm surge can travel several miles inland, especially along bays, rivers, and estuaries.
- Flooding from heavy rains is the second leading cause of fatalities during landfalling tropical cyclones. Widespread torrential rains from tropical storms and hurricanes often cause flooding hundreds of miles inland. This flooding can persist for several days after a storm.
- Winds from a hurricane can destroy buildings and mobile homes. Debris, such as signs, roofing material, and items left outside can become flying missiles during hurricanes.
- Tornadoes are often produced by landfalling tropical storms and hurricanes. These tornadoes typically occur in rain bands well away from the center of the hurricane.
- Dangerous waves produced by a hurricane’s strong winds can pose a significant hazard to coastal residents and mariners. These waves can cause deadly rip currents, significant beach erosion, and damage to structures along the coastline, even when the storm is more than a 1,000 miles offshore.
Climate Change is now: “…The inundation of the coast has begun. The sea has crept up to the point that a high tide and a brisk wind are all it takes to send water pouring into streets and homes….”
Monday, September 5th, 2016
1984
2014
Victims of the Louisiana floods in the present draw on the experience of the victims of Hurricane Katrina in the past.
Tuesday, August 23rd, 2016“…..The Louisiana Civil Justice Center, started in the months after the hurricane to respond to the many and confounding legal issues of the poor, is the official statewide legal aid resource in the state bar association’s disaster plan…..
The St. Bernard Project, a nonprofit rebuilding group started by two volunteers in 2006 in a parking lot in a wrecked parish outside of New Orleans, is planning to open at least one office, if not several, in Baton Rouge. The group’s leaders have been in talks with advertising firms in New Orleans about campaigns to educate people about how to navigate the FEMA process for grants and loans, how to avoid being defrauded by contractors and how to do some home-salvaging work without any outside help at all. ….
“We’re 11 years after Katrina, and only 60 percent of the housing stock in St. Bernard Parish is back,” Mr. Spain said, referring to a parish just east of New Orleans that was almost entirely destroyed by the levee failures after the hurricane. This time, it was Livingston Parish, just east of Baton Rouge, that was almost entirely flooded. “It’s important that we don’t repeat mistakes whether it’s from Sandy or Katrina or Gustav.”
Part of the issue then was how long it took for homes to be rebuilt and essential services to come back. After Hurricane Katrina, thousands endured extended stays in FEMA trailers, and thousands of others eventually settled down permanently in cities elsewhere, bleeding New Orleans of its population……”