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AMERICAN SOCIETY OF CIVIL ENGINEERS

Ask Yourself This: Are My Home and Loved Ones Safe from Floods?

Most people know that levees are structures built near rivers and lakes to reduce the risk of flooding. But what does it mean to live behind a levee? How much protection does a levee really provide? What do you need to know to remain as safe as possible?

This booklet was created to help answer your questions about levees and their associated risk. Most importantly, it is intended to help you act now to better protect yourself against future flood threats.

Four Essential Levee Facts

FACT NUMBER 1 Flooding will happen. All rivers, streams, and lakes will flood eventually. This means that all levees will be called upon to combat floodwaters at some point. Don’t think flooding can happen to you? Think again.

FACT NUMBER 2 No levee is flood-proof. Levees reduce the risk of flooding. But no levee system can eliminate all flood risk. A levee is generally designed to control a certain amount of floodwater. If a larger flood occurs, floodwaters will flow over the levee. Flooding also can damage levees, allowing floodwaters to flow through an opening, or breach.

FACT NUMBER 3 Risks associated with flooding vary. If you live behind a levee, you are responsible for knowing the threat you face from flooding. Don’t assume that someone else is watching out for you. Take responsibility.

FACT NUMBER 4 Actions taken now will save lives and property. There are many steps you can take, from purchasing flood insurance, to developing an evacuation plan, to flood-proofing your home, to reporting any problems that you see. The sooner you act, the better off you’ll be when the next flood occurs. Be prepared.

Downolad complete brochure (PDF): So You Live Behind a Levee!

About American Society of Civil Engineers
www.asce.org
“Founded in 1852, the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) represents more than 147,000 members of the civil engineering profession worldwide, and is America’s oldest national engineering society. ASCE’s vision is to position engineers as global leaders building a better quality of life.”

Tags: American Society of Civil Engineers, ASCE, Flood, home, Levees, safety

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 5th, 2010 at 2:46 pm and is filed under Aging Infrastructure, Dams, Environment, Infra Views, Inland Waterways, Levees, National, Urban Planning . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.