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Think how big a gallon jug is? Consider hundreds of thousands of those jugs, each weighing over 8 pounds, moving. That’s power. Add in the following equation:
Six inches of moving water will take a person down. One foot of moving water can sweep a car away. In the desert. In fact, deserts are particularly prone to flash floods due to rocky terrain and lack of vegetation and dirt to absorb rainfall.
Having commanded a Special Forces A-Team that was focused on Maritime Operations, I learned first-hand the power of water. To demonstrate this, the instructors at the Royal Danish Navy Fromankorpset Combat Swim School had us try to swim to land near the mouth of a river. It easily pushed us back out to sea despite our best efforts.
How Likely Is a Flood In Your Area? FEMA has a web site where you can check the flood map for your location. Remember, though, that if you are traveling, you don’t know the possibilities along roads and in different areas. FEMA Flood Map Service Center
Note that there are many areas that were not in flood zones, that are now included because of rising water levels. A new map as of 2020 includes 6 million more homes than previously mapped.
There are three main types of floods: Coastal (surge) Flood River (fluvial) Flood Surface (pluvial) Flood).
