• Listen to the radio to know which region are touched and which roads are safe and also to know where to go and how to react if the emergency team tells you to leave your household.
• Keep an emergency kit at hand, in a portable container such as a duffel bag, back pack, or suitcase with wheels.

If you have to evacuate

• Leave your house when the local emergency operations officials advise you to. Ignoring this advice could potentially put the security of you and your family at risk, and also the security of the people that would eventually have to rescue you.
• Bring with you your emergency kit.
• Take the roads designated by the officials. Do not take shortcuts because they could lead you to blocked or dangerous areas.
• Take necessary measures for your pets.
• If you have the time, leave a note saying at which moment you left and where you are going. If you have a mailbox, leave the note there.

Do not cross a flooded area

• If you are walking, never cross a flooded area. The water current could sweep you away.
• If you are driving, do not go in flooded waters or underpasses. The water could be deeper than it looks, and you could stay stuck or your vehicle could be swept away by a strong current.
• Avoid crossing a bridge if the water level is high and the current is strong.
• If you are stuck in an area where water rises very fast and your car breaks down, abandon it. Save yourself along with your passengers.

Re-entering your home

• Do not get back home until civil authorities tell you there’s not more danger.
• If electricity supply wasn’t shut down before the flood, do not enter your household until a qualified electrician has determined that there’s no more danger.
• Be careful when you re-enter your home after a flood.
• Appliances that have been wet carry the risk of creating an electric shock or fire when they will be turned on. Do not use any electrical, heating, pressure or sewage system until a qualified electrician has cleaned, dried and inspected them.
• The electrical supply panel must be cleaned, dried and tested by a qualified electrician in order to confirm that it’s safe.
• Depending on where you live, the person in charge of inspections at a local or state level is responsible for the necessary permissions with electrical companies concerning the reconnection of power supply to your home.

Building safety

• Make sure of the safety of the building structure of your home.
• Take notice of any subsidence or weakening of the walls and floors.
• Watch out for holes in the floors, broken glass and other dangerous debris.

Water

• Flood waters can be highly contaminated by sewer waters and other pollutants. They can provoke sickness and infections.
• If the color, smell or taste of the water you are drinking tells you it might be contaminated, do not drink it.
• Household items damaged by the flood will have to be thrown away in accordance with local rules in your city.

Documents

• Store all valuable documents that have been damaged in a freezer until you need them again (after the cleanup, communicate with a lawyer to determine if the damaged documents must be kept or if it’s enough to only keep the information they contain).
• If possible, record all damages caused by the flood with a camera.
• The total of all damages to your household must be communicated immediately to your city and insurance agent.