This is Flood Safey Awareness Week

State emergency management officials and the National Weather Service have tried to raise public awareness of the dangers of flooding this week. Weather Service meteorologist Brenda Bock says flooding seems to get less attention as a danger, despite the results seen nationwide. She says flooding kills more people in the United States than any other weather element, but she says it possibly doesn’t get the excitement of a severe storm or a tornado, because flooding is more long lasting. Bock says they try to remind people of some of the basic dangers of flooding, and cites the Flood Safety Awareness Week motto as an example.She says the motto is “turnaround, don’t drown”. Bock says the motto is in reference to people driving through water covered roads in a flood. Iowa’s had 12 Presidential disaster declarations due to flooding since 1990. The worst flooding in that decade came in 1993 when all 99 counties were declared federal disaster areas and 17 people died. She says it is very important to follow the rules for flooding. For more information on preparing for a flood, visit www.iowahomelandsecurity.org.