Nurture Nature Center Marks Flood Awareness Week

Editor's note: Regular Nurture Nature Center blogger Gabby Salazar is on vacation this week. We've posted this on her behalf, which is why my byline appears on the website. Despite that, these are still Gabby's words.

As we observe National Flood Safety Awareness Week, one might remember the devastating flooding that hit the Easton area in 2004, 2005 and 2006.

Here at the , we continue to gather the stories and photographs of those members in our community who experienced the many
floods of the Easton area throughout its history.

A study by the Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction (ICLR) found that there is a two year window of opportunity after a disaster in which public interest was heightened enough to take action in addressing danger and loss
from the catastrophic event.  

Here in the Lehigh Valley, we just endured the in the Lehigh Valley's history - August and September 2011.  We were spared the worst of the extreme flooding that devastated other parts of the Northeast, but perhaps the frequent, - and the tremendous precipitation - of last fall are enough to keep that "window of opportunity" cracked open.  

With FEMA nearly 85% complete, perhaps it poses another opportunity for heightened public awareness. Communities are now being asked to give public comment on floodplain map changes - changes that can increase the number of properties in a flood hazard zone, or that can shift the risk areas from one property to another.

With improvements and increases in technology, and a longer experience of river flows, floodplain managers can more accurately predict where the river might rise during certain weather events.  

Proposed revisions to Easton's floodplain maps are currently under a 30-day review period that began on Feb. 21.  You can find the maps online at www.easton-pa.gov.  Maps for Easton, and other areas, are also available
online at www.FloodSmart.gov or www.rampp-team.com/public.htm.

Updated knowledge of these "at risk" areas can provide important information for the residents of Easton. These maps can help you designate a safety route, protect your property, determine a safe place for the family to meet
and, perhaps even spur you on to create a family emergency kit.

Although the floodplain maps show areas likely to flood, we can never be sure of what route a particular storm might take nor be absolutely certain of what areas will flood. We can be certain, though, that it will flood again.

What steps have you taken since the last flood in Easton to help prepare for the future?