Protect essentials before floodwater arrives

Use a life-safety stop rule

This is advance and watch-stage work. Stop protecting property and leave when:

• an evacuation or higher-ground instruction applies;
• water is entering or rising around the building;
• the safe exit could be cut off;
• officials say the area is unsafe;
• there is a gas odor, damaged wiring, sparking, buzzing, or structural damage; or
• the task would require entering a wet basement, flooded room, or moving water.

No document, appliance, or keepsake is worth delaying a safe departure.

Protect needs in this order

1. People and animals. Confirm transportation, assistance, destination, and communication.
2. Medicine and required equipment. Pack medicine, charging, refrigeration, mobility, and care supplies according to their specific plans.
3. Essential records. Gather the originals or copies actually needed during displacement and recovery.
4. Irreplaceable and high-value items. Move only what can be handled quickly and safely.
5. Appliances, utilities, and other property. Act only with enough time, a dry route, and appropriate authority and knowledge.

If the household has only a few minutes, stop after the life, medicine, equipment, and communication steps.

Keep usable copies of essential records

In advance:

• make digital copies of identification, insurance, housing, vehicle, financial, medical, and animal records that apply to the household;
• confirm that each image or file is readable and includes every necessary page;
• choose storage with protections and sharing controls appropriate to the information;
• keep portable paper copies in a labeled waterproof inner container; and
• know which originals must travel with the household.

An account-based copy can help if paper records are damaged, but may require a network connection and account access. Check whether a digital copy is actually available offline. Do not make it the only travel copy.

Do not put passwords, safe combinations, or unnecessary personal details in filenames or checklist labels.

Move selected property before water arrives

If the building remains dry and there is time:

• move paper records, electronics, photographs, medicine, and small valuables above the expected water level;
• raise items on stable shelving rather than precarious stacks;
• move hazardous household chemicals, fuel containers, and similar products only if they can be handled safely and stored upright without creating a new risk;
• move a vehicle from a known low area before roads flood and only when current travel remains safe; and
• take quick dated photographs of rooms and selected property if doing so does not delay action.

An upper floor can reduce exposure to shallow water, but it does not make an item fireproof, theft-proof, climate-controlled, or safe from structural failure.

Appliances and electricity

NWS advises disconnecting electrical appliances and, if instructed and time permits, utilities before water arrives. The safe implementation depends on the building and local system.

In advance, learn:

• where the electrical disconnect, water shutoff, and other controls are;
• which controls the resident is authorized and able to use;
• what the utility, fire department, electrician, plumber, property manager, or local emergency plan says; and
• who will restore service afterward.

During an event:

• unplug small appliances only while the area, hands, cords, plugs, and floor are dry;
• do not enter water to reach a breaker, appliance, outlet, pump, or utility control;
• do not touch electrical equipment if it is wet or if the person is standing in water;
• do not shut off gas unless the utility or local authority instructs the household, or an established emergency plan with the utility says to do so; and
• never turn gas back on yourself.

Renters should contact the owner or manager about building systems unless an immediate official instruction says otherwise. Do not alter shared utilities or building equipment without authority.

Leave the plan for another person

Record:

• the limited-notice priority list;
• where the portable records are kept;
• which items require two people or should not be moved;
• the utility and property-manager contact numbers;
• the controls a qualified person has explained; and
• the point at which everyone stops and leaves.

Keep sensitive details private. A trusted contact may need to know whom to call without receiving document contents or an indoor map.

Do not

• Do not delay evacuation or higher-ground movement to protect property.
• Do not enter a wet basement or flooded room.
• Do not touch a wet appliance, cord, outlet, panel, pump, or utility control.
• Do not use unstable stacks that can fall or block an exit.
• Do not place chemicals where leaks can mix or containers can float away.
• Do not assume account-stored documents are available offline.
• Do not shut off or restore a utility without the appropriate instruction, authority, and knowledge.
• Do not describe completed property tasks as evidence that the building is safe.

Next action

Make readable digital copies of the most important records that apply to the household. Put portable paper copies in a waterproof inner container, then write the point at which everyone stops and leaves beside the property list.