My theme for my 2015 A to Z Challenge came from my
Disaster Crimes series. Disasters are a theme in each story, so it got me
thinking about all the disasters that occur from natural disasters to manmade
disasters.
Today’s
disaster is...
FLOOD
FLOODS are
caused when an excess of rain causes rivers and lakes to swell past their
normal size and leak water on both sides. Floods can also occur when there’s so
much rain that the ground can’t soak it up fast enough, so the water just keeps
getting higher. Flashfloods can happen even without signs of rain, and are so
fast that they can sweep away cars.
FACT: Two feet of water can carry away an SUV.
Floods can happen during hurricanes, tropical storms and
severe thunderstorms, and can occur from damage after earthquakes and even
volcano eruptions.
Not only do floods cover roadways, subways and bridges
but houses, too, causing tremendous damage and many deaths. They also fill
sewage systems, which results in human sewage getting mixed into the flood
waters, causing waterborne diseases.
FACT: One inch of rainfall in an hour can cause
flooding in urban areas.
If there’s a flood warning where you live, sandbags are a
great defense along doors to stop water from getting in, but you’d need several
bags to keep back floodwaters that are over a foot deep.
In case of a flood, seek higher ground.
FACT: A
flood that hit China in 1931 caused 2,500,000–3,700,000 deaths.
QUESTION: What cherished possession would you try to save
from a flood?
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130 comments:
Floods are one thing we have faced in the UK in recent years, the worst I remember for me being the Boscastle flood that swept away most of the lower part of the village near the bay, because I know Boscastle, the shops, and some of the people, and to see it all washed into the sea was horrible. Cars were running down the hill in the torrents like they were children's toys.
If I had to save one cherished possession from a flood it would have to be by NAS drive - there's lots of sentimental stuff I own, but that has all my fiction on it!
Sophie
Sophie's Thoughts & Fumbles
FB3X
Wittegen Press
I'd take my computer--it has all my pictures, books, family recipes--would HATE to lose that.
One inch of rain an hour doesn't seem like enough to cause flooding, pretty scary.
Yes, we get our fair share of floods here,
A great post which held my interest,
Yvonne.
Flooding comes every spring when the snow in the mountains melt, that's for sure. Not everywhere every year, but somewhere.
Cold As Heaven
If they'd stop building on the flood planes around here and actually maintain the waterways like they used to we wouldn't have so much of a problem when there is a deluge. Local authorities are morons! Anyway, to your question, most of my valued possessions are upstairs, but if they weren't I'd be grabbing my hard drives and the cats.
Tasha
Tasha's Thinkings | Wittegen Press | FB3X (AC)
Floods can be mighty powerful.That would've been horrifying to see.
I'd save my flash drives too! And my kitties. <3
Very smart.
Floods can get bad very quickly.
Thanks, Yvonne.
Yeah, no place is ever safe from a flood.
I'd be grabbing my hard drives and cats too!
Ewww to the water born diseases, my ocd will never look at floods the same again haha
LOL!!!!! I guess your OCD is worse than mine. :P
Other than my family, I think I'd have to save my flash drive and my laptop. I had no idea that it only took 2 feet of water to carry away an SUV. Scary.
Floods are truly damaging and bad. I'd try to save my cat first, then my laptop, I guess. Hard to say.
It's pretty rare to get floods where I live, but I have definitely had to drive through scarily deep torrents of water on certain urban streets in flash flooding before. Thankfully they weren't bad enough to sweep my car away!
We get tons of flooding here in the spring after the ice/snow melts up North. The Mississippi River is only about a mile from my house. Thankfully, I live on a big hill! I'd save my kids:)
In a flood, I'd grab my children's baby books and the backup drive to the computer (it's separate from the CPU). I'd be yelling for the other family members to grab the violin and guitar and a couple of really old family pictures. Coco can swim...but she'd be somewhere in the mix.
This makes me wish I had a canoe, though.
Nice post, Chrys!
The swans seem to be enjoying the water.
We get flooding here after hurricanes.
There was a flood in our neighborhood after a hurricane's remnants came through. Our street was under water, but we were lucky our house sat on a bit of a hill. Our neighbors across the street lost everything in their basements.
I would want to save my family and pets first, computer second (for the writing), and then my art work.
Old pictures. That is something I can't replace. :-)
Anna from Elements of Writing
We have our pics digitally backed up. So its our lives we would save and let everything else go to hell. It's all replaceable.
Chrys, was just about to publish your comment when I pressed delete by mistake, I have these new specs today and am still getting used to them.
I am sorry.as I value your comments.
Yvonne
Probably just pictures and my laptop. We're unlikely to get flooded where we live now but during hurricane Ivan we had surface water find its way into our basement for the first time ever. People underestimate the power of water.
The closest thing to a flood I've experienced is when all the snow melted in the spring and dripped into my basement. Scary stuff.
I would probably save the family and the dog. Everything else is replaceable :D (And the dog can't swim). We have slow floods in Hungary in the spring. We sometimes go and watch them from the levees and eat ice cream. :D
@TarkabarkaHolgy from
Multicolored Diary - Epics from A to Z
MopDog - 26 Ways to Die in Medieval Hungary
We had a huge flood back in the early 90s when I lived in Southern Illinois.
I would save my kids and grab the harddrive with all our pics on it. I would be tempted to save my collection of old and rare books, but I know that would be a lost cause.
--
Tim Brannan, The Other Side Blog
2015 A to Z of Vampires
http://theotherside.timsbrannan.com/
Floods can be awful. I remember post-Katrina. But I love that those swans made lemonade out of lemons.
Good luck with the 2015 A to Z Challenge!
A to Z Co-Host S. L. Hennessy
http://pensuasion.blogspot.com
Ah, now this disaster I'm intimately familiar with. Part of our province floods every year, but it's not from rain--it's from piles upon piles of snow melting too fast. Thankfully, we have a floodway which can be opened to save the city. A lot of rural people suffer each year, but the city is always protected.
What would I save? Definitely my animals. They're my number one priority in an emergency.
Wow, what a terrible flood for China. :( I love the picture with the swans--it's a beautiful image for what is otherwise an unfortunate event.
And I'd save my cats, without a question. :)
There's a town in a neighboring county that always gets flash floods because of severe rain storms. But if it was me, I'd grab my kids (and have them grab some books), then my drives, Chromebook and my wallet.
We had our Great Flood of '93 in St. Louis. I'll never forget it. I saw whole towns getting destroyed. It was quite scary.
Family first .. . and then, I'm not sure. Most of everything I have is replaceable, except maybe photos or writing on my pc - which I try to "backup" with e-mail regularly as well as with a home wireless backup system. I've never experienced a flood like that, although we used to have our back yard flood like a series of ponds in the rainiest seasons.
Some great information today. As for your question, since I live alone I can get out of the obvious "My spouse, my child, my cat" reply. As my writing is very precious to me, I"d save whatever I could of any hard copy stories I've written and have not transcribed to the computer. And yes, there are plenty. I'd also try to save the several volumes of my personal journal dating as far back as 1984, even though I've transcribed these to files on my computer. And all files are backed up to an online server. So they are not necessary to save, but as long as we are just pretending, I'll pretend they are that important to me.
We get flash floods here nearly every monsoon. You'd think folks would learn not drive around barricades; fatalities are all too common.
For us writer, flash drives and laptops are the first things we'd grab in any disaster.
I have four cats I'd need to save. And they'd probably run and hide, so that would be hard and I'd be panicking.
That's good! There's nothing you can do if your car is swept away by a flood.
Thank goodness for that hill!
My characters in Hurricane Crime used a canoe in a flood. ;)
Hurricanes and Tropical Storms, plus severe thunderstorms cause flooding in a lot of places here in Central Florida.
That's terrible. Basements are the first to fill up.
My basement flooded the first year I lived here. Had to get new sump pump, but it didn't affect the neighborhood.
You're right, Anna.
Very true, Stephen. You've got a good head on your shoulders. ;)
That's okay. I can stop by again. I think I remember what I said. :)
Water can be fierce. It can carve stone!
Basements are the first to be effected. I don't have one, though.
Poor doggy. I'd try to save my kitties, but there's four of them and they scare so easily.
Trying to save books would be difficult though I'd be tempted too.
The swans could swim in anything, anywhere. They don't mind. :)
Snow melting is a big cause.
My kitties are mine too. :)
It's an interesting perspective with those swans, isn't it?
So would I. :)
Kids can sure help out to gran valuables.
That does sound scary.
You should try Dropbox, Tyrean. It's a lot easier to backup writing than sending yourself emails.
All great things to save, Jeffrey.
Some people become dumb during disasters.
That's very unlucky!
Here in Las Vegas we get flash floods during the monsoon season starting in July. It was rain really heavy for a couple of hours, flooding the streets and then go away. The city has put in flood channels and rebuilt some of the streets so that they drain better. When I first moved here there was an underpass called the Charleston underpass that would flood with enough water to swallow cars completely and it would take days to get it cleaned up. A few years ago the city rebuilt the street so that the flood waters drained better. But we still have really bad flooding here. During the monsoon season the local news stations always tell us to Turn Around Don't Drown. Which means never try to cross a flooded street because you don't know how deep the water is.
Hi Chrys - floods can be so dangerous .. people just don't realise. We've had some excessive rainfall here in recent years, which has somewhat swamped areas .. as there's not enough space for a run off. Sophie's Boscastle floods were extraordinary .. and I've been marooned in Eastbourne from the flood waters ... but not serious here I'm pleased to say.
Cheers and saving something .. probably be me - !!! Cheers Hilary
Of course they'd grab their favorite toys first, lol.
I'd probably be too worried that everyone made it out safely to save anything else. My heart goes out to all of the people who've lost their livelihoods to catastrophic floods.
Julie
Luckily I've never experienced a flood. I think I'd have to grab my cat before anything because if he got wet there's a good chance there will also be bloodshed...
Yes, in several situations. If the ground is frozen and there is a sudden rain or thawing, there is nowhere for the water to go. Hence, flooding.
Also along coastal highways or heavily built up areas where natural habitat has been taken over by concrete and highways so when it rains, there is nowhere for the water to go, no ground or plants to suck up the water. It will flood the highway and any low-lying land.
Urban development has to take a turn world wide, especially in developed or industrialized areas. Destruction of trees and other flora mean there's nothing to soak up the water, either a result of melting snow or increased rainfall. With nowhere for the water to go, you're going to have floods. See photo of industrialized Worcester, MA,.above, which receives significant amounts of snowfall in winter. NYC is learning its lesson and reinstituting beach, planting seagrasses etc. along the coastlines to soak up the water from rainfall.
Hi Chrys,
Floods are quite common where I come from. The last one was recently in Kashmir. Traumatic! and heartbreaking.
I don't know what I'd save in a flood - the family of course first thing, and then maybe a mobile phone, passports and/or bottles of water/biscuits to last us till help arrives? If there's time, then I'd take the laptop too, I 'd lose quite a bit of my work otherwise :)
Best
Nilanjana
In honor of Passover, I nominate FROGS. There was a documented flooding 3000 years ago, which resulted in Burgundy Blood algae or Oscillatoria rubescens, which significantly multiples in slow-moving warm waters with high levels of nutrition, and which would have forced the stressed frogs to exit the water where they lived.
In nature, everything has a consequence.
You'd think living in Michigan, I'd seen floods, but nope. Although currently, our garage is flooded with a few inches of water... well, ice. It flooded then got cold and froze. At least our car wasn't inside when that happened.
~Patricia Lynne aka Patricia Josephine~
Member of C. Lee's Muffin Commando Squad
Story Dam
Patricia Lynne, Indie Author
Probably my camera and memory sticks with photos would be the things I'd try to save. I'd grab hubs first of course. And a water bottle or two.
Why, of course! ;)
Swallow cars? That's a lot of water! I wouldn't want to be on the cleanup crew.
I think you already know we went through the 2010 flood in Nashville and had to rebuild our home. Sucked! We just bought a house and finally will be able to put this one up for sale (five years post-flood). It's finally worth more than we owe on it, thanks to home values going up in Nashville--but still about $20,000 less than I paid for it nine years ago.
So many disasters that involve water and wind people don't realize how devastating and dangerous they can be.
I hope you'd save yourself! :P
People with big families in their house must panic during disasters. I know I'd panic trying to locate my kitty family and bring them to safety.
Haha! Bloodshed and a flood do not mix. :P
You're absolutely right. We've done so much damage and built ourselves up so much that disasters are worse because of it.
I'm sorry for the flood that hit Kashmir. My heart goes out to all impacted by it.
Passports! That's a good one that I never thought of.
That's a very good thing your car wasn't inside the garage when that water froze. You'd be stranded. Or using the bus. Or hitching a ride with someone.
Grabbing water and some kind of canned goods is always a good idea.
That truly sucks! I'm sorry you had to go through all that, but I'm super happy that you bought a house.
You're right about that. In Florida, those coastal highways flood easily during hurricanes and tropical storms. And whole neighborhoods will also flood.
I've seen a few nasty floods. Nothing quite disastrous, but still pretty bad. If there was ever a serious one, I'd have to save my cats first. Then my laptop.
That's fascinating! Who knew a flood could do that? I sure wouldn't want to live near there and have all the frogs all over everything.
I'd save my cats and if I had time I'd get my family albums and genealogy books. Our area has had an occasional flood but that's rare. We mostly need the rain.
It's truly scary what floods can do. People must listen to the warnings and flee before it's too late!
Scary!! I would escape with my writing 'stick', the portable files. Of course, my purse and phone are always within reach in case of emergency. Great tips, Chrys. Again, I could see this weaved into a story to add drama.
One thing I'd save from a flood? Probably my computer with all my novels.
Family and laptop! Flooding has been a big problem in the UK recently. Never been caught in one but it's scary stuff.
Saving out furry friends is on the top of many of our lists to save if a flood ever hit.
I hope you guys get the rain but not too much this year. :)
Listening to the warnings saves lives. More people should pay attention to them.
Having your purse and phone close by is a good thing. Mine are always close too. There's a flood in Hurricane Crimes. ;)
Good idea!
Laptop is a common answer. Probably because most of us are writers. ;)
Not a fan of flooding, it's messy and it get's to be reaky... Welcome in the letter "F"... thank you!
Jeremy [Retro]
AtoZ Challenge Co-Host [2015]
There's no earthly way of knowing.
Which direction we are going!
HOLLYWOOD NUTS!
Come Visit: You know you want to know if me or Hollywood... is Nuts?
I've never been in a flood but the pictures I've seen in real life are unbelievable. I need to think about what I would grab to save....i don't really know.
There seem to be more and more floods in many places of the world these days... I hope I can save my laptop computer
Letters from the Land of Cherry Blossoms
Considering where I live, if I have left long before the flooding, I'd be grabbing my kayak cause I'll have a lot of paddling to do.
Interesting question; not sure which treasured possession. I'd probably have to take one of hubby's guitars, LOL, he would want to try to save all he could. I'd have to say my old falling apart Bible because I've written lots of things in it over the years. I've never been in a flood; I usually am the opposite, living in droughts or deserts.
betty
I'd try and same my books document from flood waters. Congrats on getting your site up.
I had major car damage once. The water was about two feet high. My car didn't float away, but some close by did. I'd take my laptop. If I couldn't take it, then my flash drive.
Floods can be most devastating. It can cause river banks to collapse and low-lying areas are at their mercy. Communications are at a standstill and rescue efforts are stunted all compounding the situation. What to save? Perhaps important documents take priority!
Hank
Flash flooding happens often in my area. As the saying goes: turn around, don't drown. Floods sure are scary.
As a kid our home flooded often, it sucked! We live in a flood free zone now, but with the drought in Ca., I think everywhere is a flood free zone now.
Scribbles From Jenn - Visiting from the A to Z Challenge
I always feared fire, but I heard that fire damage can actually be better than water damage. Fire leaves very little behind, so you only miss what you can remember. Water ruins pretty much everything and leaves it all behind for you to see. The devastation can be overwhelming. Add that to being able to carry an SUV off in 2 inches and water is now my first fear.
You can find me here;
ClarabelleRant
There's been floods in Nigeria in the last last year or two, wasn't affected personally, but it was generally a devastating experience.
"FACT: Two feet of water can carry away an SUV."
Yikes, that's a scary fact! Interesting A-Z theme though! :D
Must save laptop!!
We get a lot of flooding in Dover, DE. My mom has to evacuate her job sometimes because she works on Water St., which I'm guessing was named that way because it's the first to flood.
It is messy and smelly!
The images are unbelievable.
More snow is melting then ever before, and there's more rain.
Your kayak would save the day!
Saving your Bible sounds like a good idea!
Thanks, J.L.!
Both smart ideas. Us writers have to save our writing.
Important documents like passports and birth certificates should take priority, but people don't often think of those.
That's an interesting saying. I'll have to remember that if there's ever a flash flood here.
Probably. I hope California gets some relief soon.
Fire is my biggest fear, but it actually revitalizes the land and brings new growth.
I'm sorry! I'm praying for those affected.
Glad you find my theme interesting, Clare. :)
Water Street sounds like a place that would flood.
Now here's one disaster I am most familiar with :D During my childhood years in Middle East, I witnessed one flood which was the worst of many years and I had an important final exam too on the same day :P Next one was 10 years later in Mumbai, India where the floods got so bad during monsoons that we had to stay overnight at the office and got to return home only the next day afternoon. Floods are definitely harmful if we aren't careful.
Did you get out of the exam? :P
Floods are horrible and Toronto had one last year from one big rainfall. Thankfully we didn't get near as much. I would save pictures as once they are gone, they are gone for good
I know it's not the same thing, but you could scan those irreplaceable pictures so you can have them on the computer. You could also save them on a flashdrive, email them to you or use Dropbox to store them.
We got a decent amount of flooding after hurricane Sandy, too- wiped out part of the bike path along the river. We weren't low to be affected the house, thankfully.
Hurricane Sandy caused a lot of damage.
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