It’s a familiar fall combination: high winds, fallen leaves, clogged storm drains and driving rain. When you put them all together, the likely result is flooded streets and potential property damage and dangerous driving conditions.
Today, meteorologist Andy Wappler and a group of fifth-graders from Seattle’s Leschi Elementary School demonstrated how easily people can reduce the risk of urban flooding by adopting a local street drain.
The demonstration was part of the Take Winter by Storm campaign, a coalition of four regional organizations–representing Washington state’s largest county, city, energy utilities and the leading insurer of homes and automobiles–which have joined forces in a major multi-media public awareness campaign to protect lives and property.
Sponsored by King County, the City of Seattle, Puget Sound Energy and State Farm, Take Winter by Storm is designed to help citizens and businesses get prepared and stay informed when bad weather strikes. Learn more at: www.takewinterbystorm.org.
Urban residents can play a key role in preventing flooding by adopting a street drain. In Seattle, for example, Seattle Public Utilties’ month-long Adopt-a-Drain program provides residents with free cleanup supplies — rakes, bags, gloves, shovels, brooms and dustpans–helping keep the city’s more than 80,000 storm drains clear.
Flooding related tips:
Learn about preventing urban flooding at www.takewinterbystorm.org.
- Sign up for Seattle’s “Adopt-A-Drain” program. Contact the program at (206) 684-7647 or email adoptadrain@seattle.gov. Participants will be provided with free gloves, bags, brooms, rakes and safety vests, as well as help with leaf disposal.
- Stay out of the way of flood waters. Play it safe and stay out of low-lying areas during times of heavy rains. If your basement is prone to flooding, stay out of the basement until the risk of flooding has passed.
- Keep storm drains clear to prevent flooding. Don’t put grass clippings, leaves or other debris into drains, ditches, creeks, culverts, gutters or ravines (it’s against the law). If you live at the base of a hill or on a cliff, ensure that drainage and retaining walls are in good shape. Preventative planting can also help reduce the chance of a mud slide or flooding.
- Maintain gutters and downspouts. Twice a year, clean your gutters and the drainage downspouts attached to your roof. Direct flows from downspouts away from your home, without discharging flows to adjacent properties.
- Review your insurance coverage regularly with your agent to identify needs and gaps. Make sure you have the appropriate policies for flood or endorsements for losses like back-up of sewers and drains, which are not covered in a standard homeowner’s policy.
- Store heirlooms and priceless family photographs on upper floors where they will be safer from flood waters. Items stored in basement areas should be shelved, and furniture should be on casters or shims away from floor drains.
For information about how to prepare for bad weather and what to do when storms do come our way, as well as accessing links to resources with information about road and pass conditions, transit snow plans, flooding conditions, coping with power disruptions and preparing for emergencies in the greater Seattle-King County area, visit www.takewinterbystorm.org.
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Take Winter by Storm partners: King County Executive Office, King County Office of Emergency Management, King County Office of Regional Public Education, Puget Sound Energy, Seattle City Light, Seattle Department of Planning and Development, Seattle Department of Transportation, Seattle Public Utilities, State Farm
