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Threats & Emergencies  

Floods

Flood Home • Flood Basics • Responding to Floods • Reduce Your Risk

Reduce Your Risk

The following steps are recommended by FEMA to reduce your risk in the case of flooding.

• Learn your flood risk. Everyone is at risk from flooding, even properties that are not located within high-risk areas. Find out your relative flood risk right now — online at FloodSmart.gov “What’s Your Flood Risk.” Simply enter your property address to see your relative risk, find links to flood maps, and other flood insurance community resources. Insurance agents can also help assess risk.
• Ask an out-of-state relative or friend to be the “family contact” in case your family is separated during a flood. Make sure everyone in your family knows how to find that person.
• Store important documents, photos, and irreplaceable personal possessions where they won’t get damaged. Consider placing these objects in rooms on the highest level of your home, in waterproof or plastic packaging.
• Plan and practice a flood evacuation route with your family. Build an emergency supply kit to take with you and stay away from rivers and streams or areas where water covers the road.
• Consider improvements to your home or property (often referred to as mitigation steps) to reduce the chances of a financial loss due to flooding. These activities range from raising the washer and dryer on a platform in a basement, to moving the fuse box from the basement to an upper floor, to more rigorous methods such as elevating the entire house. For more information visit, www.fema.gov/mit.
• Visit FloodSmart.gov to learn about ways to lower your risk of sewage backup, electrical problems, basement flooding, and other flood-related problems.
• Keep your flood insurance policy current. Remember: your policy needs to be renewed each year, and your homeowner's insurance does not cover floods.
• Conduct a thorough home inventory. If your home is damaged in a flood, thorough documentation of your belongings beforehand will help you file a full flood insurance claim. Take photos or videos of your important possessions. You should also leave a copy of important documents with relatives or friends, or in a safe deposit box. Don't leave your only copy at home, where it might be destroyed. It is also a good idea to invest in computer software programs designed for electronically filing this information. These programs are readily available at local computer stores.

If you don’t have flood insurance, talk with your insurance agent. There are low-cost Preferred Risk policies for people in low- to moderate-risk flood areas. Virginia residents can visit FloodSmart.gov or call 1-800-427-2419 to learn how to prepare for floods, how to purchase a National Flood Insurance Policy, and the benefits of protecting their homes and property against flooding.