How to Prepare for a Flood: A Guide for Families

It is 9:15 on a Sunday night in April. It has been raining since Friday, the sump pump has been cycling more than usual, and your phone just buzzed with a flood warning for your county. Your eight-year-old wants to know whether the creek behind the school is going to come up your street.

Probably not. But the next hour goes very differently depending on what you did on a dry afternoon months ago.

This is a guide to how to prepare for a flood when you have kids, a basement full of things you care about, and a normal amount of free time.

Do I need to think about flooding if I am not in a flood zone?

Yes, and this is the part that surprises people.

Flooding is not only rivers. It is heavy rain that overwhelms storm drains, snowmelt that arrives all at once, a hurricane's rain falling hundreds of miles inland, and flash floods on hillsides left bare by a wildfire the summer before.

If you have never looked up your own address, FEMA's Flood Map Service Center will show you your flood zone in about two minutes. Whatever it says, the rest of this page still applies. It just tells you how much of it to do.

What is the difference between a flood watch and a flood warning?

The National Weather Service uses three levels, and each one asks something different of your household.

Alert	What it means	What your household does
Flood Watch	Flooding is possible.	Charge phones, move valuables up, put the kit where you can grab it, and fill the car's tank.
Flood Warning	Flooding is happening or about to.	Follow local instructions. If you are told to leave, leave. If you are staying, move to a higher floor.
Flash Flood Warning	Fast, dangerous flooding is happening or about to, nearby.	Move to higher ground now. Stay off flooded roads entirely.

A watch is your planning window, and it is usually the calmest hour you will get. Use it.

If someone in your household is deaf or hard of hearing, a phone buzzing in another room is not an alert. Our guide to how emergency alerts reach a deaf or hard of hearing household covers the options.

How do you prepare your home for a flood?

Almost everything that protects your house from a flood is free or cheap, and none of it can be done once the water is already in the yard.

• Move what matters up. Photo albums, the box of kids' artwork, and important papers do not belong on the basement floor. Nobody has ever regretted moving the holiday decorations up one shelf.
• Find your shutoffs now. Know where your electrical panel and main water valve are. Only switch off the power if you can reach the panel without standing in water.
• Give the sump pump a backup. If you have one, it runs on the same power the storm is likely to take out. A battery backup keeps it running for a while after the power goes.
• Clear gutters and downspouts. Point downspouts away from the foundation so roof water is not aimed at your basement.
• Check your insurance. Most homeowners and renters policies do not cover flooding. A separate flood policy does, and it usually takes 30 days to begin.

What goes in a flood kit?

A flood survival kit is a regular 72-hour kit with one extra layer: everything that matters has to survive getting wet.

The foundation is the same as any kit. Water, food that needs no cooking, light, a battery or hand-crank radio, and first aid. Water deserves a second look here, because floods can contaminate wells and trigger boil notices even after the water goes down. We worked through how much to store in why your kit doesn't come with three days of water.

Then add the waterproofing layer:

• Gallon zip-top bags for copies of IDs, insurance policies, and a list of prescriptions. The zip-top bag is the most underrated piece of flood gear in America, and there are forty of them in your kitchen drawer right now.
• A waterproof pouch for each phone.
• Rubber boots and sturdy work gloves for the cleanup afterward.
• Dry socks for everyone. They take up almost no room and matter more than you would expect.
• Hand sanitizer and wipes. Floodwater often carries sewage, and the tap may not be safe for a while.
• Pet supplies. Our pet emergency plan covers what cats and dogs need.

What should my family do when the water is rising?

Never walk or drive through floodwater. This is the single rule that matters most, and it is worth deciding as a family before you ever need it.

Moving water is far stronger than it looks. According to the National Weather Service, six inches of fast-moving water can knock over an adult, twelve inches can carry away most cars, and two feet can carry away SUVs and trucks. The CDC reports that over half of flood-related drownings happen when a vehicle is driven into hazardous water.

You cannot see what is under the water, including whether the road is still there. The Weather Service's whole campaign is four words long: Turn Around, Don't Drown.

• Go up. If water is coming into the house and you cannot leave, move to the highest floor. Do not climb into a closed attic, where rising water can trap you. Go onto the roof only if you have to.
• Leave when you are told. Local officials know which roads are still open, and that can change quickly.
• Stay away from downed power lines and any water they might be touching.

What happens after the water goes down?

The water leaving is not quite the end. The week after a flood has its own short list.

• Go home only when local officials say it is safe.
• Photograph everything before you clean. Every room, every damaged item, and the water line on the walls.
• Treat floodwater as contaminated. Keep kids and pets out of it, and wash your hands after any contact.
• Throw out any food that touched floodwater. Unopened commercial cans can be kept if you clean and sanitize them first.
• Run generators outdoors only, well away from windows and doors. Our winter storm guide explains why carbon monoxide is the real risk after any outage.
• Wear a real respirator for mold cleanup. A NIOSH-marked N95 with two head straps, not a cloth mask. Here is how to tell whether a mask is genuine.

A question worth sitting with

If an inch of water came into your house tomorrow, do you know whether your insurance would pay for any of it?

That inch matters more than it sounds. FloodSmart estimates that one inch of water in an average-sized home can cause roughly $25,000 in damage. Finding out takes one phone call to the agent you already have.

The honest part

We do not sell a flood kit, and it is not an oversight.

Nothing about flood preparation needs a special kit. It needs a regular kit, a handful of zip-top bags, and a few decisions made while the ground is dry. Our 72-hour home emergency kits cover the foundation. If your floods tend to arrive with a named storm, the hurricane checklist and our hurricane kits cover the timeline that comes with them.

Not sure which risks matter most where you live? Our guide to matching a kit to your region's risks starts there.

Frequently asked questions

Does homeowners insurance cover flooding?
Usually not. Most homeowners and renters policies exclude flood damage. A separate flood policy, through the National Flood Insurance Program or a private insurer, covers it. There is typically a 30-day wait before a new policy takes effect, so it has to be bought well before a storm.

How much water does it take to sweep away a car?
Less than most people think. The National Weather Service says twelve inches of rushing water can carry away most cars, and two feet can carry away SUVs and trucks. Six inches of fast-moving water can knock an adult off their feet.

What should be in a flood emergency kit?
Everything in a standard 72-hour kit, including water, no-cook food, light, a radio, and first aid, plus a waterproofing layer: documents in zip-top bags, phone pouches, rubber boots, work gloves, dry socks, and hand sanitizer.

What is the difference between a flood watch and a flood warning?
A flood watch means flooding is possible, so it is time to prepare. A flood warning means flooding is happening or about to, so follow local instructions. A flash flood warning means fast, dangerous flooding nearby, and it is time to move to higher ground.

Peace of mind, packed and ready.

Sources: FloodSmart, the National Flood Insurance Program, flood risk and insurance guidance; National Weather Service, Turn Around Don't Drown; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, flood-related drowning data as reported by the National Weather Service; Ready.gov, FEMA's preparedness campaign, flood guidance; FEMA Flood Map Service Center.