National Flood Insurance
Program
(Based on the FEMA
WWW flood pages and localized for Collier County, Florida)
NOAA
Flash Flood Safety Guidelines
American Red Cross:
Are
You Ready for a Flood or a Flash Flood?
¿Está
preparado para una inundación o para una inundación súbita?
Flood related links
EMERGENCY INFORMATION
-
Flood waters can be extremely dangerous. The force of six inches
of swiftly moving water can knock people off their feet. The best protection
during a flood is to leave the area and go to shelter on higher ground.
-
Flash flood waters move at very fast speeds and can roll boulders,
tear out trees, destroy buildings, and obliterate bridges. Walls of water
can reach heights of 10 to 20 feet and generally are accompanied by a deadly
cargo of debris. The best response to any signs of flash flooding is to
move immediately and quickly to higher ground.
-
Cars can be easily be swept away in just 2 feet of moving water.
If flood waters rise around a car, it should be abandoned. Passengers should
climb to higher ground.
-
More information....
DANGER ZONES
Floods and flash floods can occur virtually anywhere within Collier County.
Communities particularly at risk are those located near water (the Gulf,
canals or lakes), in low-lying areas, or downstream from a dike or levee.
Another risk area is upstream from large culverts or outfalls.
This link will give
you a brief view of the 100 & 500 year flood plain in Collier County
WHAT IS A FLOOD?
Floods are the most common and widespread of all natural disasters--except
fire. Much of Collier County is susceptible to flooding after heavy rains,
heavy thunderstorms, or tropical
weather such as a depression, tropical storm or hurricane. Floods
can be slow, or fast rising but generally develop over a period of days.
In coastal Florida, the storm surge accompanying
a hurricane is generally the most devastating type of flooding. A wall
of water swept inland ahead of the storm batters the coastline destroying
anything in its path. A little farther inland the battering effect diminishes
quickly, but rising waters can still destroy property, even several miles
from the Gulf.
WHAT IS A FLASH FLOOD?
Flash floods usually result from intense storms dropping large amounts
of rain in a short time. Flash floods occur with little or no warning and
can reach full peak in only a few minutes.
HELP YOUR COMMUNITY GET READY
The media can raise awareness about
floods and flash floods by providing important information to the community.
Here are some suggestions:
-
Publish a special section in your local newspaper with emergency information
on floods and flash floods. Localize the information by printing the phone
numbers of local emergency services offices, the American Red Cross, and
hospitals.
-
Interview local officials about land use management and building codes
in floodplains.
-
Work with local emergency services and American
Red Cross officials to prepare special reports for people with
mobility impairments on what to do if an evacuation
is ordered.
-
Periodically inform your community of local public warning systems.
DID YOU KNOW...
-
If your home has flooded before, it is likely that it will do so again,
unless YOU take action to prevent it!
-
Individuals and business owners can protect themselves from flood losses
by purchasing flood insurance through National
Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). Homeowner's policies do
cover flood damage. Information is available through local insurance agents
and the Emergency Management Department.
-
Flood insurance does NOT go into effect until
after you apply!
-
The Everglades is one of the largest swamps in the world, and all
of Collier County is located in the Everglades! When heavy rains impact
a swamp, it floods, and the lowest parts of the swamp flood the most. It
is not technically or environmentally possible to drain Collier County
to the point were flooding will not happen!
-
Since 1979 new construction in Collier County has been required to meet
elevation
requirements of the NFIP. Homes built before 1979 may be
more likely to experience flooding because elevation was not required!
If your home or business is lower than those around you, it means your
risk is greater. This is not because the other buildings are higher,
but because yours is lower!
-
Flooding has caused the deaths of more than 10,000 people since 1900. Property
damage from flooding now totals over $1 billion each year in the United
States.
-
In the worst single natural disaster ever, 6,000 people drowned in a storm
surge at Galveston, Texas in 1900.
-
More than 2,000 people died around Lake Okeechobee in the 1928 hurricane
when the levees broke under the stress of a storm surge on the lake.
-
More than 2,200 lives were lost as a result of the Johnstown, Pennsylvannia
flood of 1889. This flood was caused by an upstream dam failure.
-
Nearly 9 of every 10 Presidential disaster declarations result from natural
phenomena in which flooding was a major component.
FEMA Documents:
Fact
Sheet | How The
Public Can Help After A Disaster | Preparing
for a disaster
Other flood related information:
The Flood
Project: Describing
Floods
Flash
floods and insurance information
Hurricane
Flooding: A Deadly Inland Danger
More LOCAL Emergency Preparedness Documents:
More
local flood information | What to do before,
during,
and after a hurricane
Go back to:
Emergency
Management Page (Graphics)
Top
of this page
For additional Collier County hurricane or flood information,
write or call:
Collier County Emergency Management
3301 East Tamiami Trail
Naples, Florida 34112
(239) 774-8444
(Emergency Services Division, Board of County Commissioners, Collier
County Florida)
last updated 2 May 2002 by Rick
Zyvoloski, RichardZyvoloski@colliergov.net
© 2002, Board of County Commissioners of Collier County, Florida
