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BRYAN, Texas (KBTX) - Water may seem harmless in the daily sense, but its tightly bound molecules are strong enough to build up continents, and to tear down mountains. In one swift motion, water can wash away everything in its path. This is why flooding awareness is so important. While not technically located in “Flash Flood Alley” (an area that stretches along the I-35 Corridor from Dallas down to San Antonio), flooding is something the Brazos Valley is very familiar with.

Though minor flooding events are at the very least an inconvenience, Dr. Erik Nielsen, a professor of Atmospheric Sciences, and an expert in excessive rainfall processes, says they are “elevating awareness” and helping to emphasize the “importance of flood safety”. The formal definition of flash flooding is “the rapid rise of water that occurs within six hours”, but what it boils down to is, “too much water, too little time”, says Nielsen. With urban development on the rise, our communities are becoming saturated with impervious surfaces like concrete and asphalt. The lack of soils and vegetation inhibits the environment’s ability to soak up rainfall, and therefore the risk for runoff and flash flooding becomes elevated.

Dr. Nielsen points out that “water is a concern not only for human life, but it [can also be] really damaging to property”. However, when it comes to flood insurance and protecting your property, it can be complicated. Flood insurance is different from your typically home insurance policy, and can be difficult/expensive to obtain, “unless you live in a floodplain”. What makes this complicated, is the fact that there is not a clear set of criteria an area must meet to be defined as a floodplain. Dr. Nielsen says it “varies based upon the risk that [is being] examining, but it’s also relative to what has already happened”. With that being said, extreme weather events are becoming less and less predictable, so if the planning only accounts for what has already flooded, many vulnerable areas will likely be left unprotected.

Nielsen poses a loaded question, “where do you go” when it floods? Instinctually, you want to retreat to higher ground, but what if the flooding is correlated to a high-wind event? With a typical high wind hazard, the central most area on the lowest level of a building is the safest place to be, however if water is rapidly rising, that is the last place you want to be. The fact of the matter is, that “flooding is associated with heavy rainfall and thunderstorms”, but so are all “of the other severe weather threats”, which is why Dr. Nielsen stresses the importance of being “aware of your surroundings as they are developing”. The roadways are never a safe place to be in the event of flooding. The majority of deaths related to flash flooding occur in vehicles. If a roadway is flooded, turn around, don’t drown.

Be sure you have a way to receive emergency and weather alerts, and remember, “just because a place hasn’t flooded before, doesn’t mean it can’t flood”.