…keeping safe when floods come

Last week we talked about the end of Jamaica’s “long dry”.  Heavy spring rain and the prospect of an active tropical storm season suggest that soon we could be looking at too much water in all the wrong places.  Every year, Jamaicans die in floods and landslides even when no hurricane comes near us.  There are things we can all do to be safer.

First, check your surroundings.  High risk areas include the banks of rivers, streams and gullies, and the low-lying areas where water from surrounding hillsides drains into a river, a gully or a roadway.

Second, do what you can to lower your risk.  Make sure any ditches, drains, culverts and gullies near you are kept clear of trash, brush and tree branches, so water can flow freely.  If you can, use rock walls and ditches to steer water away from your house.

Third, pay attention to the warnings.  The Meteorological Service and ODPEM issue these warnings – broadcast on radio and TV and published in newspapers – to give people who may be at risk a chance to prepare, and to move to safer places if they need to.  If a warning is issued for your area, head for higher ground and stay there until the situation improves.

Fourth, use common sense.  The American Red Cross offers the following advice:
•    Keep children and pets away from fast-flowing water.  Just six inches of fast-moving water can sweep you off your feet.  If you must walk through floodwater yourself, use a stick for balance and to feel for sinkholes and obstacles you can’t see.  
•    Don’t drive on a flooded road.  Most cars can be swept away by less than two feet of flowing water, and you won’t be able to see if the road ahead of you is caved in or washed out until it’s too late.
•    Be especially careful at night when it is harder to recognize flood danger.
•    After the flood, don’t enter your home until you have checked outside for loose power lines, damaged gas lines, foundation cracks or collapsed supports.  If power lines are down, don’t step in puddles or standing water.  If you smell gas, call your gas company or the fire department.
•    Watch out for animals, especially mice, rats,centipedes and spiders, which may have come into your home to escape the flood.
•    Keep children and pets away from standing or flowing water, collapsed structures, cave-ins and other hazards.
•    Don’t plug in or turn on anything electrical until you are sure all your wiring and appliances are clean and dry.
•    Clean up and disinfect everything that got wet.  Throw out things like batteries, fuel containers and food (except for cans and well-sealed bottles) that came in contact with the floodwater.
•    Boil water if you’re not sure it’s safe.  Don’t use water that could be contaminated to wash dishes, brush teeth, make ice, prepare food or make baby formula.

We’ve already had the first national flash flood warning.  There will be more.  Better land use planning, that looks at whole watersheds from mountain top to sea floor and corrects some past mistakes, is the only way to keep deadly floods and landslides from being annual events.