Floods are the natural hazards that occur the most frequently. They can happen at any moment during the year and are most often caused by heavy rainfalls, rapid melting of a thick snowpack, ice jams or, more rarely, by the defectiveness of a dam that’s natural or built by men.

Facts about floods

• A heavy rainfall can provoke floods, particularly when the ground is still frozen or already saturated from previous storms.
• A sudden rising, leaving only a very short amount of time to warn the population, can be caused by hurricanes, violent storms or dams breaking.
• All rivers flood the ground at a moment or another. Populated flood plains can be subjected to important damages from floods.

Preparing for a flood

To reduce the probabilities of damages relative to a flood

• Draftproof the basement windows and the bottom of the main floor doors.
• Make sure that the downspouts eject the water at a sufficient distance from the house’s foundations in order for it to flow out in an opposite direction.
• You could also equip your household with a sump pump and zero reverse flow valves in basement floor drains.
• Do not store any important documents in the basement. Keep them on the upper floors, which will protect them from floods.
• If you are the owner of a livestock farm, remember that the cattle has the instinct of moving away from flood waters. Generally, it will try to take refuge on a higher ground, if that’s possible. When you buy or conceive your livestock exploitation, it is important for you to allow the cattle to have access to a higher ground in each pasture. If you omit to do so, the cattle will try to cross the fences and will be more likely to drown. The cattle’s initial reaction to a sudden flood will be to panic. This makes its management more complex.

If we wait until a flood occurs

• Turn off heating appliances in the basement along with the gas valve outside the house.
• Take specific precautions to protect electric, natural gas or propane heating appliances
• If you have enough time in your hands, communicate with your electricity or gas provider to get instructions on how to proceed.
• Do not shut off electric supply if the electric control box isn’t completely dry. When you shut up power supply, stay away from the electric control box and turn your face so you do not face it directly. Have a flashlight with you.
• Turn off heating appliances in the basement along with the gas valve outside the house.
• Take specific precautions to protect electric, natural gas or propane heating appliances
• If you have enough time in your hands, communicated with your electricity or gas provider to get instructions on how to proceed.
• Do not shut off electric supply if the electric control box isn’t completely dry. When you shut up power supply, stay away from the electric control box and turn your face so you do not face it directly. Have a flashlight with you.
• In case of a flood on a rural farm, sheltering livestock might be a wrong idea. It is preferable to not lock the animals up because the flood waters that could flood a cowshed could trap them and provoke their drowning.
• If the plan is to evacuate the animals, evacuation procedures must be planned and site locations and roads that will be used must be determined. The roads being used to evacuate the animals must not interfere with those that will be used by humans. Secondary routes must be determined in case the planned road isn’t available. One must also decide in advance the areas where the animals will be brought to and make agreements with the owners of those areas so that they accept the animals.

In case of imminent flooding risk

• Completely shut down electricity supply of your household.
• If the ground is wet near the electric control box or electric distribution panel, stand on a dry board and turn off the switch or circuit breaker using a dry stick.
• Move furniture, electrical appliances and other goods above ground level.
• Place in a safe area toxic substances like pesticides and insecticides, in order to prevent pollution of the flooded zone.
• Remove toilet pans and clog the toilet connections and basement sewer drains using wooden stopper.
• Disconnect eaves troughs if they are connected to the house sewer.
• Sandbags or polyethylene barriers can be excellent means of preventing water from entering the house. But before resorting to these solutions, you must obtain any useful information from the local emergency operations officials.
• Do not attempt to shut down the electricity supply if there’s water nearby. Contact between water and electric lines can result in death. Leave your house immediately and do not return in it until civil authorities state that there’s no more danger.