Major weather events are typically preceded with meteorologists calling for preparedness, while the days after a storm are often times filled with inevitable devastation & shock. Too many times we see 24-hour coverage of locations flooding which seemingly had no chance to flood. But is this truly the case? Unfortunately, areas which have not seen flooding in 50, 100, or even 200 years typically are overlooked as having a flooding threat by even the most deeply rooted locals.
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During Irene, we were very surprised to see one of the main streets flooded right near our own office. Even residents of Hackettstown for generations have never seen this happen. The image to the right shows our flooded road as well as an orange outline on a FEMA map indicating a 0.2% chance to flood, or having the potential to flood from a 1-in-500 year event.
Almost everyone is familiar with the flooding which occurred along the east coast during Sandy, but we took a closer look at an area in the New York Harbor. Parts of this area had not seen flooding in the 100+ years that the water gauge in the harbor had been recording. Looking at the image below, you can see the image alternating between FEMA flood zones (blue = 1.0% yearly chance to flood, orange = 0.2% yearly chance to flood) and the actual flooded area during Sandy (solid blue). The 3 arrows point to locations that were never known to have flooded before Sandy, however were located in an area with a 1% yearly chance to flood (1-in-100 year).
(Comparison of 100/500 year FEMA flood zones and actual Sandy flooding)
Lastly, we’ve seen the footage of water rescues throughout eastern North Carolina from the heavy rain associated with Hurricane Matthew. Amazingly, this storm brought 1-3 day rainfall totals which can be classified as a 1-in-100 to 1-in-500 year event depending on the location (rainfall map available at bottom of page).
Lengthy footage from news outlets situated in Lumberton, NC came from 2 hotels where people had moved in an effort to evacuate the coast. Unbeknownst to them, both of these hotels were actually located in areas with potential to flood from a major rain event. Unfortunately, the 100-year flood plain encompassed this entire area. Aerial photos after the storm show many small neighborhoods and local business in a similar situation.
(Flooding and flood zones at 2 hotels located on Route 211 in Lumberton, NC)
(Flooded area and flood zones in Lumberton, NC; Photo Credit: Kris Warwick)
Weather can happen anywhere, and the time to prepare for a rare or extreme event is during quiet weather. Regrettably, many people don’t think to ask the question “Can I flood?” if they consider themselves far enough away from a water source and have never personally seen flooding. The most important thing everyone can do is take some time to determine their actual potential to flood, look into appropriate weather related insurance, and have a weather preparedness plan.
The National Weather Service has an array of preparedness guides for all types of weather events available here.
FEMA also has a tool to determine if an area is located in a flood plain here with additional information here. There likely are local officals you can contact to further assist you as well.
(3-day rainfall totals in North Carolina from Hurricane Matthew)
