With the 2011-2012 fall and winter flood season nearing, Snohomish County Executive Aaron Reardon is urging residents to plan ahead now to protect and insure their property from potentially damaging floods.

Executive Reardon has declared October 23-29 “Flood Preparedness Week” as a reminder to residents to take time now to plan for property protection and safety.

“These steps can be as simple purchasing flood insurance or keeping storm drains near homes and businesses clear of debris,” Reardon said. “With the National Weather Service forecasting a wet winter this year, it is also important for citizens to have a family plan and emergency supplies for extreme weather conditions.”

Snohomish County makes available an annual publication, called the Flood Guide, which provides information that can be used for flood protection and preparedness. The Flood Guide covers a range of topics, including:
 
·         Information to help prevent flooding and to protect individual properties;
·         Actions that property owners can take to avoid flood disaster – before, during and after a flood;
·         The county’s Flood Warning System and how it works;
·         Emergency phone numbers and contact information;
·         Flood insurance facts and how to purchase flood insurance.
 

The Guide was mailed to all households within designated floodplains, and is also available online at www.floods.surfacewater.info.
 
Six presidential disaster declarations have been issued for Snohomish County since 2006 – four for flooding, one for a severe winter storm, and another for a severe winter storm with near record snow – with damage estimates of nearly $60 million.
 
There are currently more than 9,000 households located in just more than 5,000 single-family or low-density, multifamily structures within the county’s 222 square miles of floodplain. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) data indicate that only one-third of those structures are insured.
 
For more information on flooding, flood safety, and flood insurance please go to:
·          www.snoco.org, and visit the Public Works Surface Water Management and Department of Emergency Management web pages;
·         http://www.emd.wa.gov/preparedness/prep_infocus_winter.shtml#Floods;
·         http://www.snohomishcounty.redcross.org/;
·         http://www.floodsmart.gov.