Flood Safety Awareness Week

This week, the week of 16-22 March, is being observed as Flood Safety Awareness Week.

The National Weather Service (NWS) advises that it floods somewhere in the United States or its territories nearly every day of the year. Flooding causes more damage in the U.S. than any other weather-related event . . . with an average of eight billion dollars a year in the past thirty years.

NWS also advise that flooding is the leading cause of weather-related deaths in the U.S., claiming on average nearly one hundred lives a year. Most of the deaths occur in motor vehicles when people attempt to drive through flooded roadways. Many other lives are lost when people walk into or near flood waters.  This happens because people underestimate the force and power of water – especially when it is moving.

For specific flood safety awareness information, please visit:

National Weather Service: Flood Safety Awareness Week

Facebook: US National Weather Service Boston MA

Background information:

Flooding – History and Causes Factsheet

Flooding – What to Know Factsheet

Ready.gov: Floods

FEMA: National Flood Insurance Program: Flooding & Flood Risks