Floods are a problem that everyone has to encounter in some form at least once in our lives. We hear about them all the time on the news: destroying homes, wiping away infrastructure. However, it hasn't always been this way. Over the past few decades, the force of floods and the amount that they occur has increased drastically due to Climate Change and humanity's treatment of the Earth. In my last post, I discussed what exactly floods are, the different types of floods, and why they happen. But, like every other environmental problem, just knowing about it isn't enough. Knowledge should lead to action, so know that we have the knowledge of floods, what can we do to help stop them? Furthermore, until they can be stopped, what can we do to protect ourselves from them?
How to Protect Yourself From Floods
So, it should be mentioned that simply preparing for floods when they occur is not sustainable. While floods never may be completely stopped, if we as a society, and the environment, hope to prevail in the future, we have to limit our effect on the environment. However, calming the recent surge of floods won't happen overnight. This is a long term hope, and we need ways to protect ourselves in the short term until we all adapt and help to calm the changing climate. So, what methods can we use to protect us from these natural disasters?
Educate yourself- first and foremost, it is important that you know how susceptible the area you live in is to flooding. This can help you better and more efficiently prepare for any problems you might have. To find more information about how susceptible your area of residence is to flooding, contact your local council or authorities.
What to do if your area is prone to flooding- If you have recently found out that your area is easily susceptible to floods, there are a few precautionary measures you should take to ensure that floods have a minimal effect on where you live. Here are a few of the best things that you can do:
Make a first aid kit to address any injuries during a flood
Use less carpets around your house (floods can leave moisture damage in many carpets, which can cause serious health injuries even months after a flood)
Create an evacuation plan- if you are living with a family, especially small children, it is smart to devise a plan or designate an area where you can meet during a flood.
Generate a list of emergency phone numbers
Make sure you are covered for flood damage if you have an insurance policy.
What to do during a flood- while the tips before will certainly help minimize the effect of a flood, there are more steps you should take that would only be used while a flood is in effect that can help you to minimize damage. So, if you hear that a flood is coming to your area, here are some helpful steps to take:
Secure any items that may fall and cause harm during a flood
Roll up any rugs, gather electronics, and move furniture to a higher location within your house.
Tune in to a local radio station to keep up to date with the potential flood.
If you have any pets, either: take them with you, or move them to a safe place and give them ample food and water.
By following these tips, it should make managing floods much easier. However, we can't just learn how to protect ourselves from floods in the short term. Even now, many areas around the world don't have the resources to protect themselves from floods. The strength and rate of flood occurrence is also constantly on the rise, so we need to adapt and create a solution that is more permanent. This, of course, has to do with limiting humanity's effect on the environment, more specifically the atmosphere.
How Can We Stop Floods?
As was discussed in my last post, the increasing strength and frequency of floods is heavily linked to Climate Change and the water cycle. As the Earth slowly warms (due to Climate Change) more water is evaporated from the ground (causing droughts) leading to heavier rainfall (causing floods). So, it is reasonable to say that by stopping Climate Change, we can limit and even reduce the strength of many floods.
However, as I have said before, it is also important to realize that floods may never be able to be fully "stopped". They are naturally occurring, meaning that even if humanity's contributions were to be completely stopped, they would still occur. Nonetheless, pollution has made floods exponentially worse then they normally are, so limiting our effect on the environment would really help reduce the strength and frequency of many floods. Unfortunately, I do not have space to talk about how exactly we can solve Climate Change, and in turn floods, in this post, but I do have another post all about it which you can check out here.
How to Help Others Who Have Been Affected by Floods
If you maybe live in an area that isn't susceptible to flooding, or just want to help others who have been affected by floods, there are a multitude of different ways you can do so. From donating your money, to lending your time, to just spreading the word about those who have been affecting, there are many ways you can help others rebound from floods. If you would like to learn more about how to help, I recommend visiting this website, as it provides some really great info. on how you can help.
Conclusion
So, now that we all know what floods are, why they happen, and what you can do to help to stop them, it is important that we put this knowledge to use. It's one thing to know the problem, but its another to do something about it. Volunteer to help flood victims, prepare your house for future floods, or even find out more about how floods can affect us. No matter what you do to help, it is vital that we all at least do SOMETHING. So go out there, and make a difference. Thanks for reading.
All credit for information used in this post goes to:
https://www.dfes.wa.gov.au/safetyinformation/flood/Pages/prepareforflooding.aspx
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/10-measures-that-must-be-taken-to-prevent-more-flooding-in-the-future-a6788866.html
http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf83638204.tip.html
http://coolmompicks.com/blog/2016/08/19/help-victims-flooding-louisiana/
Images:
https://www.yahoo.com/news/thousands-evacuated-floods-batter-paris-191008609.html
http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-news-india/us-offers-assistance-for-chennai-flood-victims/
https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona-weather/2017/01/19/arizona-then-now-winter-rain-floods/95770500/
http://www.deeside.com/cost-wales-local-council-mergers-excess-200m/
https://intuitivepeds.com/2017/06/16/top-10-items-in-my-first-aid-kit/
https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/red-plastic-first-aid-kit-box-207913528?irgwc=1&utm_medium=Affiliate&utm_campaign=TinEye&utm_source=77643&utm_term=
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http://www.qygjxz.com/rainy-day-pictures.html
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