Think Your Home is Immune To Flooding? Think Again!
March 24, 2010
During the springtime, frozen land stops melting snow or rainfall from seeping into the ground. Every square yard of compact snow contains gallons of water. Once the warm weather sets in and the sun begins to melt the snow, the water can quickly overflow rivers and lakes of all sizes. Add several inches of new rainwater into the mix and the result is often quite dramatic. The fact is, and always has been, that spring flooding threatens a countless number of homes all across the United States, even if your property is not in Iowa or Fargo, traditionally the largest flooding problem areas in the U.S.
Flooding can occur nearly everywhere. Floods are not limited to coastlines or to only areas that have cold winters with spring thaws. They happen more often and in more areas than many of us think. Floods are, as a matter of fact, the most common natural disaster in the United States. If you live in America’s heartland, Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota or anywhere that is close to the Mississippi river, the chances are good that your area experiences several inches or even feet of snowfall a year. In the spring, when the snow begins to melt quickly while the ground is still frozen, the snow melt becomes a slow flood. Your home and other buildings on your property could easily become filled with flood water.
People who live in a desert region are not immune to flooding either. When a heavy downpour of rain occurs on bone dry land that has not received any rainfall for weeks or months on end, the results can be a flash flood that carries everything in sight away. This water cannot be absorbed into hard, dried out land, so it rushes into garages, basements and other buildings-causing a great deal of unexpected damage. Flash floods can roll huge boulders down the street, tear entire trees out of the ground and can destroy buildings and bridges.
In suburban areas, relatively new homes can fall victim to quick flooding if they are located near newly development areas. Heavy rainfall can quickly pool up when there is no place for it to go as new construction and development can alter natural drainage and create flood risks. Although this type of flooding is short term, the results are very devastating to homeowners who suddenly find a few inches of muddy rainwater standing in their basements.
These are just a sampling of a few scenarios which makes hundreds of thousands of homes across the United States vulnerable to spring flooding. Have you done all you can to protect your home and belongings from the possibility of spring flooding?
