U5L9 Flood Mitigation Options

Question 1

About 25 percent of flood insurance claims come from areas of low to moderate flood risk, why is this?

Answer 1

Flooding can occur in any part of the U.S. and no area is immune to the possibility of floods.

Question 2

What are flood mitigation techniques?

Answer 2

Strategies used to manage and control the movement of floodwaters

Question 3

What steps do responsible homeowners take to protect their homes from floods?

Answer 3

1. They carry flood insurance

2. Need to make sure that their homes are prepared to withstand some to all flood impact

Question 4

How does elevating your home help with floods?

Answer 4

Elevating structures helps to protect them from damaging waves and flooding caused by hurricanes or strong storms.

Question 5

Where are elevated homes usually used?

Answer 5

Near the shoreline

Question 6

How can a home owner protect the inside of their house?

Answer 6

The strategic placement of certain equipment in homes can help to reduce flood damage. Equipment such as furnaces, water heaters, and electric panels can be installed or relocated so they are elevated and not in the direct path of stormwater that may flood into a home.
Additionally, installing check valves, which help to prevent floodwaters from backing up into the drains of a home, can be a flood mitigation strategy for homeowners.
Finally, homeowners should be diligent in making sure basements are properly protected from damage. Sealing walls and floors in basements helps to keep floodwaters from seeping in through cracks.

Question 7

How can sandbagging help reduce the effect of flooding?

Answer 7

Sandbags act as a barrier that reroutes moving water around homes instead of through them. Placing sandbags in front of doorways and other openings helps to prevent floodwaters from coming inside homes.

Question 8

What sand is the best for sandbagging?

Answer 8

Coarse sand

Question 9

How do you use sandbags?

Answer 9

Don’t open the bag and pour the sand on the floor, instead staggering the bags on top of one another and placing the bags tightly together helps to make them successful in protecting homes.

Question 10

There are many ways homeowners can protect their homes from floods:

Answer 10

• elevating the home
• relocating furnaces, water heaters, and electric panels
• installing check valves
• sealing walls in the basement - using sandbags

Question 11

How does relocating homes off the floodplains help with floods?

Answer 11

This is self explanatory

Question 12

Some citied enforce building codes and regulations, what is an example of a building code the would help in flooding?

Answer 12

Building codes in some cities require that basements be eliminated and the first floor be raised above the expected flood level.

Question 13

Where is storm water management most common?

Answer 13

In developed cities where there is more infrastructure than natural landscape to soak up the rainwater

Question 14

What does storm water management do?

Answer 14

They work to reduce the amount of rainwater runoff or melted snow from streets and other hard surfaces

Question 15

What are some ways to reduce and reroute storm water?

Answer 15

• increase storm drainage capacity
• developing retention and dentition basins
• making more green spaces

Question 16

How can green spaces help with flooding?

Answer 16

Ultimately, water absorbed into soil helps to replenish aquifers underground while also helping to mitigate flood damages. Implementing more green spaces is a proactive way urban cities can manage excess stormwater.

Question 17

What are seawalls used for?

Answer 17

Seawalls are a flood mitigation technique used mainly on the coast to protect coastal cities from floods caused by large surge waves.

Question 18

How might a city decide which flood mitigation technique to implement?

Answer 18

A city would need to assess the issue that is causing floods and determine if it is related to floodplain management, stormwater management, or coastal concerns.

Question 19

What does the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) do?

Answer 19

They help state and local governments to reduce damages from the floods and promote flood management. They also educate the public about flooding risks and ways citizens can decrease the risks.

Question 20

How many dams do USACE control?

Answer 20

About 700, including in Puerto Rico

Question 21

What do damns do?

Answer 21

Flood control dams work by trapping floodwaters. Dams release floodwater in a controlled manner to the river below the dam, or they store or reroute water for other purposes.

Question 22

What does the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) do?

Answer 22

They work with state and local governments to assist with flood mitigation.
…
- contribute funding to the recovery efforts after floods
- works with communities to find better solutions, like flood diversion

Question 23

What is flood diversion?

Answer 23

rerouting floodwater from rivers, streams, or other bodies of water into green spaces (such as wetlands or floodplains) by means of canals and tunnels

Question 24

List an example of a flood mitigation technique that each group is responsible for implementing.

Answer 24

One homeowner responsibility is installing equipment above ground level. One city responsibility is relocating homes off of floodplains. One federal government responsibility is building dams.

Question 25

State how each technique you named help protect against flooding.

Answer 25

Installing equipment above ground level helps homeowners protect equipment from floodwaters. Relocating homes off of floodplains protects the homes from floods and keeps the floodplain as an open green space. Dams help to restrict water and release it slowly back into rivers and creeks.

Question 26

Describe Floodplain management.

Answer 26

Floodplains, or flat areas of land near rivers or streams, stretch from river banks to the edges of the valley. Floodplains can be managed by limiting economic and natural resource losses. Land use regulations include preserving open space, relocating buildings, restoring wetlands, and establishing zoning codes, or rules for development.

Question 27

Describe stormwater management.

Answer 27

When areas with a lot of pavement and buildings experience large amounts of precipitation, storm drains and sewer systems quickly become overloaded since water cannot naturally soak into the ground. Cities can manage stormwater through green infrastructure such as permeable pavement, tunneling, and underground drainage networks.

Question 28

Describe Detention basins.

Answer 28

A detention basin, or dry pond, does not have a permanent pool of water. It has a large collection area for water. The water then slowly drains out through an outlet at the bottom of the basin.

Question 29

Describe Retention basins.

Answer 29

A retention basin, or pond, retains a permanent pool of water. Water is channeled into a retention basin via underground pipes that connect storm drains to the pond. Large amounts of water enter the pond, and the outlet releases small amounts of water to maintain a specific water level.

Question 30

A city develops an open green space in the center of town as a way to help with runoff. Which flood mitigation technique is the city implementing?

Answer 30

Stormwater management

Question 31

Which stormwater management technique would a city use to channel excess stormwater to an empty area?

Answer 31

Detention basins