Familiarizing With Flood Terminology

Flood damage is indeed a big horror. It can come anytime, at people's least expected moment. A family can lose everything in a snap of a finger - not just properties, even worse - sometime lives. The only bright side about disasters and flood damage is that it becomes a good privilege for the entire country or the entire world to help each other and face this natural challenge together as one. People and institutions; however, oftentimes get misled by the media's flood news. Most people remain ignorant about flood terminology oftentimes leading them to the wrong impression. Below are five of the most commonly used flood terms for everybody's familiarization.

100-Year Flood - Most people perceive this as a flooding event which happens in every 100 years - this is wrong. A 100-year flood pertains to a flood with a 1 percent chance of being equaled or exceeded in magnitude in a given year. A 100-year floodplain is the area which adjoins the stream and the river covered by water which occurs during a 100-year flood.

Floodway - This is one of the point sections which make up a floodplain. The difference between floodways and floodplains is that floodways do not have recognizable geologic feature. NFIP defines the floodway as the channel of a river and adjacent land areas that needs to be reserved for base flood discharge.

Flood Fringe - The flood fringe is the outer portion of the floodplain which starts at the edge of the floodway and continues outward. It is located in outer sides of the floodway. This area calls the biggest demand for protection.

Flash Floods - A flash flood can occur within hours, sometime even minutes, after an excessive rainfall. Dam failure or sudden water release as cause by debris jams are also two of the most common causes of flash floods. Flash floods can cause extensive flood damage, wrecking an entire village, destroying infrastructure, plants and sometimes lives. Flash floods do not give warnings and so if you live in a flash flood prone area, it is highly necessary that you take the needed precautions seriously during heavy rainfalls.

Drill - A drill is a practice run for predetermined actions. This includes flood escape plains, supply management or any form of effort required to inform loved ones in other places that you have been badly affected by flood damage or that your are in dire need of help. Conducting drills is highly encouraged when the whole family is present. This will keep everybody aware of the necessary actions to be undertaken in times of real emergency.

Keeping ourselves aware of the above flood terminologies is always a good idea to prevent flood damage. Keeping our hearts and minds open to extending help to our brothers and sisters in need is even better. Let's avoid being misled to avoid flood damage, especially during times of emergency. During unexpected disasters such as this, every minute matters. Every second can save a life. And saving one is always possible as long as we make the right impression by keeping ourselves familiar with the common flood lingo.

About the Author

Osmund Aft speaks about homeowner issues for Riverhead, NY Flood Damage Service and Great Neck, NY flood damage clean up

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