We’ve reached the end of Severe Weather Awareness Week, and the theme for today is one people in central Iowa are likely very familiar with after the last couple years: floods.

Dallas County Emergency Management Coordinator A.J. Seely says there are two types of flooding. The first is areal flooding, which happens when bodies of water gradually overflow and spill over their banks. The second is flash flooding, which can happen anywhere and occurs during periods of torrential rainfall. Seely says the former typically results in property damage and displacement, as seen last year along the Missouri River, while the latter is more likely to result in personal injury or death, like the 2018 floods in Des Moines.

Regardless of the type of flooding, Seely says there’s a mantra people should always remember. “We preach a simple message for flooding, and that’s if you encounter a flooded roadway we want you to turn around. And that ‘turn around, don’t drown’ message is one that’s been pushed for a long time, but a lot of people still don’t follow it. You know a lot of times we can’t even see if the road’s still there, and in some cases that road’s washed out partly or fully. And so you might think you can make it, when in reality the water’s a lot deeper than it (seems) or that road’s not there like you expect it to be.”

To learn more about Severe Weather Awareness Week, click the links below to listen to the two-part Perry Fareway Let’s Talk Dallas County program with Seely.

https://www.raccoonvalleyradio.com/2020/03/23/lets-talk-dallas-county-3-23-2020-a-j-seely-part-one/
https://www.raccoonvalleyradio.com/2020/03/24/lets-talk-dallas-county-3-24-2020-a-j-seely-part-two/