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Of all of the nasty weather that Mother Nature throws our way like tornadoes, hurricanes, volcanoes, windstorms and lightning, the most dangerous natural occurrence in the United States is floods. Are you surprised that something like a tornado wouldn’t be as dangerous as some water creeping inside your basement or city streets turning into streams? It sure sounds wet, but dangerous? You bet! But why?

To understand what makes a flood so dangerous, we must first investigate how floods happen. Typically, there is a water cycle where it will rain into and then the water from the soil, streams, rivers and oceans will evaporate back up into the clouds again and then the clouds will release the water again. But, when this cycle gets backed up, a flood occurs. These “back ups” can be caused from:

• Heavy rain
• Soil that is too wet and can’t hold anymore (think of a sponge that is completely wet and full)
• Rivers, streams and reservoirs running very high due to heavy rain
• Deep snow cover melting quickly
• Frozen soil
• A dam breaks
• Urbanization - too much of the earth is covered in pavement and concrete and there is no soil to absorb rainfall
• Ice jams in a river

There are 2 types of floods: regular river floods and flash floods. Regular river floods are caused more slowly and warnings can be put out that the flood is going to happen. These usually occur when a river level slowly rises to dangerous levels. Flash floods can happen in an instant and can rarely be predicted. These usually happen from intense rainfall when the soil can’t absorb the excess water, but can also happen if a dam breaks or if large chunks of floating ice jam up a river and then wiggle free to release all of the backed up water. Since these flash floods can happen within seconds or hours, you can see how they can be dangerous. But we still haven’t resolved why they are dangerous.

Since flash flooding can occur so quickly, roads can easily fill with water within minutes. Imagine that you are driving down a road in a heavy rainstorm and you approach a puddle. That puddle might be deeper than you think and as little as 6 inches of rainwater on the road is enough to sweep a small car off of its tires and carry it down the flow of water. If you are stuck in that car, it could mean trouble. If you get out of the car and are wading in the water, any debris, including your car could hit you and that could mean trouble too.

As dangerous as these rising waters might be, you can always be smart and safe. If you do find yourself in a car where a puddle looks extremely deep, turn around and go to higher ground. If you are walking in the rain and you encounter water that goes above your ankles, change direction and walk the other way. Be aware of where you live and if it is prone to flooding and listen to the news if it has been raining a lot in your area. The weather people will have ideas of what you might do to stay safe and dry.