NWS has designated March 12-16, 2012, as the annual Flood Safety
It floods somewhere in the United States or its territories nearly every day of the year and the economic impacts of floods are growing. The annual average inflation-adjusted direct damage costs due to flooding have risen east of the past three decades from $4.7 billion for 1981-1990, to $7.9 billion for 1991-2000, to $10.2 billion for 2001-2010. The goals fo Flood Safety Awareness Week are to inform the public about NWS forecast and warning services and flood safety information, heighten public awareness to the risks assocaited with all types of floods including flash flooding, storm surge and those related to dam or levee failure, and empower citizens to take actions necessary to protect their lives and property
Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service
The Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service (AHPS) is the NWS frontline solution for providing improved river and flood forecasting and water information across America. AHPS provides a suite of graphical and numeric products over the Internet to assist the public, community leaders and emergency managers in making better life and cost saving decisions about evacuations and movement of property before flooding occurs. The broad reach of AHPS extends the range of forecasts from short-term (up to 6 hours) to long-term (out to weeks and months). AHPS provides the public with more detailed and accurate answers to the following questions: How high will the river rise? When will the river reach its peak? Where will the flooding occur? How long will the flood last? How long will the drought continue? and How certain is the forecast?
Your gateway to web resources provided through AHPS begins here:
Turn Around Don’t Drown
Most flood-related deaths occur in motor vehicles when people attempt to drive through flooded roadways. Don’t underestimate the power of flowing water across a road. NWS has developed the flood safety slogan: Turn Around Don’t Drown and hopes you will remember these words when you’re faced with a flooded roadway and have an important decision to make. Be especially cautious when driving at night when it is harder to recognize flood dangers.