Flash flood warning
A flash flood warning means flooding that can kill is happening or about to happen in the warned area, usually from heavy rain in a short time, sometimes from a dam or levee failure. Creeks, low roads and underpasses can go from dry to deep in minutes.
The words in the warning
- Radar indicated or observed: whether the flooding is estimated from rainfall or confirmed by gauges or reports.
- Damage threat considerable: serious flooding of homes and roads expected.
- Flash flood emergency: a severe threat to life in a populated area. This is rare.
What to do
- Don't drive into water across a road. A foot of moving water can float most cars, and two feet can carry away SUVs and pickups. Most flood deaths happen in vehicles.
- Don't walk into moving water. Six inches can knock an adult down.
- Get to higher ground if you are near a creek, in a low spot, or in a basement that floods.
- At night it is hard to see that a road is gone. Turn around if you can't see the pavement.