Missouri – March 4th through March 8th, 2024, is severe weather awareness week. On March 8th, 2024, the National Weather Service is talking about the severity of flooding and the damage that it can cause.
Flooding is an overflow of water onto an area of land that is normally dry, which can lead to serious injury, and property damage, and can be fatal to livestock and people. Floods can result from rain, snow, coastal storms, and surges and overflows from dams and water systems during a storm. They develop quickly or slowly and can come with absolutely no warning. Floods can cause large outages, disrupt multiple kinds of transportation, damage buildings, and create landslides.
If you get a flood watch or warning from the National Severe Weather Service or your local news station, find safe shelter right away. Move to higher ground and try to stay dry. Don’t walk, swim, or drive in flood water, and remember that just six inches of that fast-flowing water can knock you down or sweep your vehicle off the road. Stay off all bridges and try to get away from large bodies or still or moving water. There are many deaths caused by floods because of vehicles and people being swept away in fast-flowing water, not being able to stay out of water if the storm turns into a flash flood, and being trapped in flooded buildings. For more information on the dangers of flooding, you can visit, https://www.ready.gov/floods.
Find out more information on severe weather awareness week by visiting, https://www.weather.gov/eax/SevereWeatherPreparednessWeek#:~:text=Join%20the%20NWS%20and%20Missouri,to%20promote%20severe%20weather%20preparedness or contacting the National Weather Service at 417-869-4491.
