NEW YORK STATE -- Due to the severity of flooding in both Central New York and the Southern Tier the last few years, experts say you take some precautionary measures before you’re faced with a major headache.
We spoke with officials with the Onondaga-Oswego Chapter of the American Red Cross who say it's important to have a preparedness kit stored and ready in a safe place. You can put one together yourself with supplies like first aid materials, a flashlight, a radio, a blanket and some extra clothes. It's also important to keep your important paper documents in a safe place and talk to your family about a potential crisis situation. If you're new to your neighborhood, you'll also want to check out if you live in a flood zone and consider getting insurance.
With the melting of snow and plenty of rain, spring time in our region typically brings flooding. That's why experts say you'll want to be ready should an emergency situation come about. News 10 Now's Brad Vivacqua recently spoke with officials from the local Red Cross and has some tips on how to prepare for an emergency.
As we saw two years ago, flooding became so bad in the Southern Tier and the Mohawk Valley that many people we're forced to evacuate their homes and many lost everything they had. Although there's no telling if we'll be faced with a situation like that again in the near future, officials say the more you plan ahead now, the better off you'll be.
"Part of that plan should be what are we going to do or where are we going to go in the event of an emergency and remember that especially with flooding, a large area could be affected, an entire community, and entire neighborhood could be affected so part of your plan should at least be a contingency on a place to go outside of your community," said Paul Smith of the Onondaga-Oswego American Red Cross.
Smith says most Red Cross chapters have emergency preparedness kits available.
You can also get more tips on how to handle an emergency flooding situation by visiting www.redcross.org.