Q1.
Flood Safety Tips — read and learn the chart of things to do Before a flood, During the Flood, and After it.
Answer
The chart on page 33 has three columns and fifteen tips — five for each stage. Here is the whole chart, with the reason for every tip, so that you remember it instead of only reading it.
| Before | Why |
|---|---|
| Stay informed through the local news | A warning usually comes hours before the water does. Knowing early gives your family time to act calmly. |
| Prepare an emergency bag with food, medicines and flashlight items | In a hurry there is no time to search. One ready bag means you can leave in a minute. |
| Know the process to evacuate and safe alternative routes | The usual road may be under water. Evacuate means to leave a dangerous place and go somewhere safe. |
| Leave before flooding starts | Moving through water is far more dangerous than moving before it arrives. |
| In flood prone areas, keep useful items at home (sandbags, ladder, rope, etc.) | Sandbags keep water out of the door, a ladder takes you to the roof, a rope helps people hold on. |
| During the Flood | Why |
|---|---|
| Disconnect electricity and gas | Water carries electric current, and a leaking gas pipe can catch fire. Switch both off at the main point. |
| Do not walk or drive in flood water | Flood water is muddy, so you cannot see an open drain or a broken road under it, and even knee-deep moving water can knock a person over. |
| Get to a higher ground | Water always fills the lowest place first. Height is safety. |
| Follow evacuation orders | The people giving the order can see the whole picture — how fast the water is rising and where it will reach. |
| Free cattle and lead animals to a safer place | A tied animal cannot save itself. Untie it and take it to higher ground. |
| After | Why |
|---|---|
| Avoid contact with flood water and swimming | Flood water is mixed with drain water and germs, and there may be sharp things and snakes in it. |
| Do not touch power lines | A fallen wire may still be live, and wet ground carries the current a long way. |
| Do not go home or to disaster areas until it is declared safe | Weakened walls and roofs can fall long after the water has gone down. |
| Communicate to your family that you are safe | It stops others from taking risks to come and look for you. |
| When back at home, clean and disinfect surfaces, and items | The mud left behind carries germs. Cleaning and disinfecting stops illness from spreading. |
The one rule behind all fifteen tips: in a flood, water is not just wet — it is deep, fast, dirty and full of hidden dangers, and it also carries electricity. So the safe thing is always to get away from the water early and stay away from it late.
Learn it as three words: Before — prepare and leave. During — switch off, go up, obey orders. After — do not touch, do not return early, clean well.