Things to do to safeguard your home

1.Prevent water from entering your home - If you are expecting heavy rains or storms to hit your locality, particularly if you live in a flood-prone area, you should cover your doors, or even windows, with metal sheets, sandbags, or plywood. You can also use silicone sealant to ensure that water will not enter your home.

2.Shut off your utilities - You should remember to turn off all your utilities, such as gas, electricity and even water, at the mains. You should also remember to unplug all your electrical appliances and store them at high places, on the second floor, if possible.

3.Protect your appliances and furnitures - You need to ensure that your furniture and appliances are kept on high areas or upstairs. If you do not have a second floor, you can just raise such items on blocks or bricks. Be sure to remove carpets, curtains and even internal doors. Store them all in high places to ensure that they are protected from water.

4.Protect your personal items - Important papers, pictures and other personal items should also be placed on higher grounds, particularly on the second floor of your house. If not, you should put important papers on sealed bags to ensure that they are protected from floods.

5.Protect your - Make sure that all objects outside your house or in the garden such as fertilizers and chemicals are kept in a safe place. Floodwater can easily seep into them and cause contamination to your home and surrounding areas.

Things to do once a flood warning has been issued

1.Listen to the local news - Information is crucial during situations like these. Thus, you need to always listen to the radio for announcements and updates.

2.Cooperate with local authorities and emergency services - Be sure to cooperate fully with local authorities and emergency services. If they require you to evacuate, follow them and do not dillydally.

3.Power backup - Since electricity will almost certainly be unavailable, you must ensure that you do all the things you need to do during the day. It is much more difficult and unsafe to do things in the dark.

4.Share information - Share the information with your neighbors, particularly the old people, so that they can also prepare themselves.

5.Stay inside the house - Be sure to stay inside your house. Floodwater can kill, especially when it is raging, so do not attempt to go out. It is important to note that rapid flowing water that is six inches high could make you fall, while two feet of water could make your car float.

6.Safe location for pets and cars - Ensure that your pets and cars are in a safe location. Once you heard of flood warning, you should stay on the second floor of your house.

7.Do not attempt to swim - There maybe objects floating in the water, so do not attempt to swim through raging flood. You can either be swept away or be knocked over by objects that are in the water.

8.Avoid contact with flood water - Floodwater may be dirty and contaminated with sewage, so you should avoid contact if possible. It would be a shame that you survived the flooding, but fell ill because of contaminated water.

9.Stay away from dangerous places - River bridges, sea defenses, and riverbanks are very dangerous places to be in during floods, so be sure to steer away from them if possible. There have been many cases wherein floodwater have destroyed or collapsed bridges and defenses.