Flash Flood Warning Comes - How to Better Respond

Flash floods refer to the sudden and rapid rise of water in low-lying areas, posing significant threats to communities. The causes of flash floods in the US vary from heavy rainfall to dam failures or sudden snowmelt, often catching people off guard. These unpredictable disasters wreak havoc on infrastructure, homes, and lives, causing extensive damage and endangering human safety. Recently, the US authorities issued flash flood warnings for Ventura and Los Angeles counties^[1] to inform residents about possible disruptions, including power system failure. In this situation, Jackery’s solar generators can be of great help. Jackery Solar Generator 2000 Plus and Jackery Solar Generator 3000 Pro both provide ample power output to keep your essential appliances running during a flash flood.

This article further guides you on responding to flash flood warnings and highlights the importance of solar generators. Let's begin!

Types of Flood Warnings

The National Weather Service often categorizes flash flood warnings to inform the residents about the situations they may encounter. Following are the terminologies they use:

Flood Watch

A flood watch is issued or given when conditions are favorable for flooding to occur in an area. It doesn't necessitate that flooding is imminent; however, residents must be prepared for any possible scenario.

Flood Advisory

A flood advisory is given when minor flooding is expected in an area. This type of flooding may not cause any severe nuisance, but residents must take necessary action to ensure their lives and belongings are safe.

Flood Warning

The National Weather Service gives a flood warning when flooding is expected or already happening at a location. It poses a higher level of risk than a flood advisory, and residents are asked to take quick action to protect their property and loved ones from rising waters.

Flash Flood Warning

The flash flood warning is the most serious one as it points toward flooding that can become life-threatening. It occurs after hours of rainfall, and the National Weather Service department gives an alert to urge residents to move to high ground and avoid flood-prone areas.

How to Respond to Flash Floods Better?

If, unfortunately, you are stranded in an area where a flash flood is imminent or happening, you should follow the given tips to be safe:

Always Pay Attention to Official Warnings

Local authorities and metrological departments keep issuing a flood watch or warning. You can also visit the National Weather Service to stay updated about the situation.

Never take these warnings, as mentioned above, lightly. Please stay vigilant. Doing so allows you to stay prepared, reducing the uncertainty of injuries or loss of life. For instance, just recently, a New York snowstorm warning was issued, resulting in 3.2 inches of snow in Central Park^[2].  

Avoid Going Out

First and foremost, you should avoid going out. A flash flood warning is no joke; ignoring it can endanger your and your loved ones' lives.

So, instead of going out, move to the highest level of your home to prevent yourself from being swept away. Stay there until the floodwaters recede. Also, keep yourself informed about the situation through local news or weather updates.

Prepare an Emergency Kit

You should also prepare an emergency kit amid a flash flood warning. Some essentials that you may need are:

• Food: Flash floods often disrupt the normal supply chain and infrastructure. You may be stranded for days without access to food. Therefore, you should pack canned goods, dried fruits, granola bars, and other non-perishable snacks. This ensures you and your family have enough sustenance until the flood recedes or help arrives.
• Water: During flash floods, water can become scarce. So, you must keep at least one gallon of water per person for drinking and sanitation purposes.
• Flashlight: Flash floods also cause the failure of electric power systems. Hence, you must have a flashlight with extra batteries to ensure you can navigate darkened areas.
• First Aid Kit:Injuries or accidents can happen anytime; however, the medical team may take longer to arrive during a flood. So, you should keep a first aid kit with items such as antiseptic wipes, pain relievers, and bandages in your emergency supplies.

Reinforcement of Dwellings

Another way to stay prepared in spite of a flash flood warning is to reinforce your dwellings. This means renovating or strengthening your residential and commercial buildings, so they don't collapse during the flood. For instance, you may have to elevate electrical systems and install flood barriers.

In addition, you may need to reinforce the walls of your home with durable materials to ensure they withstand the power of moving water. But that's not all - focus on cleaning gutters and downspouts for an efficient water flow.

Know your Evacuation Routes

Knowing your evacuation routes is also very important. The government's authorities provide you with a list of paths that guide you to safe, high-ground areas during a flood.

After receiving the flash flood warning, you can easily get information about these paths via your local news channel. Having this knowledge beforehand ensures you can easily evacuate an area with your family and aren't stranded in rising flood water levels.

Store Valuables in Advance

Many times, flood water can enter your home, damaging your belongings. So, when a flood watch or warning is issued, you should immediately pack valuable items using acid-free cardboard. Then, place them in waterproof plastic bins for protection from floodwater.

Participate in Community Preparedness Activities

You should also take part in community preparedness activities to increase resilience in such a dangerous event. For instance, you can join training sessions on disaster preparedness and volunteer with local emergency response teams. Moreover, participating in neighborhood watch programs and engaging in flood awareness campaigns are also great.

Solar Generators

During a flood, the electrical infrastructure is affected, leading to prolonged blackouts. Solar generators are key in this situation as they utilize the sun's energy to generate power. They don't rely on a traditional grid system, ensuring your appliances, medical equipment, and electronics keep running.

How Can Solar Generators Address the Need for Electricity During a Flash Flood?

Equipped with embedded battery modules and foldable solar panels, solar generators can satisfy your essential power consumption when the flash flood comes. Let's discuss how a solar generator solves your power problems:

• Basic Lighting: Solar generators power basic lighting such as electrical bulbs and rechargeable lights. This ensures you stay illuminated when the power system fails during a flood.
• Emergency Communication: These generators also power emergency communication devices like mobile phones, two-way radios, and satellite phones. This is useful in coordinating emergency response efforts and seeking medical assistance.
• Power Supply for Mobile Medical Facilities:Solar generators also support mobile medical facilities by providing electricity to medical equipment such as ventilators, defibrillators, and oxygen concentrators. This helps medical professionals in offering life-saving care to flood victims.
• Power Supply for Water Pumping Machines or Systems: Unfortunately, flash floods can contaminate water, disrupting access to clean water sources. Solar generators also aid in this situation by powering water-pumping machines. These systems extract water from reservoirs and other sources so communities in need can have clean water to drink.

How Solar Generators Can Be a Solution?

Here are some reasons that highlight why solar generators are helpful in a flash flood warning:

Independence From the Grid

In the event of a flash flood, power transformers are also knocked down from the poles when floating debris like trees or cars hit the pole. This situation leaves grid-dependent people without electricity.

Solar generators act as house energy backups, providing a solution to this as they eliminate your dependence on traditional grid systems. They utilize the sun's energy, a renewable energy source, keeping all your appliances and electronics functional when a grid failure happens.

Continuous Energy Supply

As mentioned earlier, solar generators convert solar energy into electrical energy. This reliance on renewable energy enables them to provide you with a continuous power supply in the face of a flash flood warning. Your devices and appliances, including lighting, communication devices, and medical equipment, all stay operational.

Environmental Friendly

Electricity production constitutes 30% of greenhouse gases released in the US^[3]. Sadly, this is true. Solar generators are good news in this situation. These generators utilize the sun's energy via portable solar panels and convert it into electricity. The electricity produced is clean and doesn't release any harmful greenhouse gases, making solar generators eco-friendly.

Flexibility and Mobility

Solar generators offer exceptional flexibility and mobility as they are lightweight compared to traditional counterparts. For instance, Jackery Solar Generator 3000 Pro has an aluminum alloy pull rod and non-slip silicone strip, which enhances its adaptability during flash floods by preventing the generator from slipping or sliding on wet surfaces. And this flexibility allows you to easily transport solar generators to different locations when you are evacuating or in a shelter.

Long-Term Benefits

Solar generators also have plenty of long-term benefits. They become your ally in other weather conditions, like hurricanes or storms. In addition, they keep your everyday appliances running during daily blackout scenarios. This is indeed helpful as the frequency of power outages is increasing in the US. In 2022 alone, US electricity customers experienced approximately five and one-half hours^[4] of electricity interruption.

Reliable Solar Generator for Extreme Weather

Jackery’s solar generators are highly durable and portable, which makes them your best companion during a flash flood warning. Let's discuss two of our top-notch products that are worth investing in!

Jackery Solar Generator 3000 Pro

Jackery Solar Generator 3000 Pro is your ultimate smart power solution during a flash flood. For its battery module, the Jackery Explorer 3000 Pro Portable Power Station has an impressive 3024Wh capacity and massive 3000W power output, which keeps all your appliances running smoothly. Besides, this power station can charge 99% of your devices, helping you get rid of power anxiety during the flood time. And, with its industry-leading BMS battery, which provides 12 layers of protection, you can trust the reliability of our solar generator and cater to your power needs safely.

And the Jackery SolarSaga 200W Solar Panel is another key component in this power station complete set. With 6 Jackery SolarSaga 200W Solar Panel, the Jackery Explorer 3000 Pro Portable Power Station can be recharged fully by solar energy in only 3-4 hours. It achieves energy independence for you amidst extreme weather. Plus, its ETFE-laminated case guarantees durability, ensuring a longer lifespan even in harsh environments. With an IP68 Waterproof Rating, this solar panel can withstand wet weather, providing peace of mind during unexpected floods. Furthermore, its practical carrying bag facilitates easy transportation, while magnetic pads enable the panel to be folded tightly, making it convenient to carry on off-grid adventures, ensuring power availability when it's needed most.

Jackery Solar Generator 2000 Plus

Next, we have the Jackery Solar Generator 2000 Plus, a powerhouse for long blackouts, including flash floods. Compared with Jackery Solar Generator 3000 Pro, one of the spotlights of this product is battery expandability. With an original 2042.8 kWh battery capacity, the battery set in Jackery Solar Generator 2000 Plus allows you 2-24 kWh expandable capacity. Moreover, our Jackery Solar Generator allows you to power heavy-duty appliances up to 6000W. As a result, you can return your life to normalcy when extreme weather comes.  

Plus, engineered for durability, the Jackery Explorer 2000 Plus Portable Power Station has superior LiFePO4 battery technology, guaranteeing an extensive 10-year lifespan even if you subject it to daily usage.

Here is the sheet about the estimation of the running time of your home appliances that you connect them to our Jackery Solar Generator or Jackery Solar Generator 2000 Plus

Conclusion

Flash flood warnings can be issued anytime, especially in the US, where weather is unpredictable. Therefore, it's essential to respond quickly to such situations. You should pack your valuable items, store water and food, and have a first aid kit. In addition, you should invest in solar generators to have access to continuous power during severe weather conditions.

Now, you must be wondering which solar generator company to opt for. Well, Jackery is your one-stop shop. We can offer high-quality solar generators such as the Jackery Solar Generator 3000 Pro and Jackery Solar Generator 2000 Plus to meet your energy demands as extreme weather comes. Both generators deliver massive power output and are durable.

If you are interested, visit our websites today to get access to a variety of solar solutions at an affordable price!

Reference

[1] Available at: https://crisis24.garda.com/alerts/2024/03/us-flash-flood-warning-in-effect-for-parts-of-ventura-and-los-angeles-counties-california-until-at-least-1900-march-7

[2] Available at: https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2024/02/13/new-york-city-snow-record-winter-storm/

[3] Available at: https://www.cbo.gov/publication/58860

[4] Available at: https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=61303#:~:text=On%20average%2C%20U.S.%20electricity%20customers,in%202022%20compared%20with%202021.