📋 Step 1: Before the Storm
Name one adult for each child. That adult stays within arm’s reach of the child near any water.
Pick a meeting place and a way out. Know where we go if we need to leave, and how we get there.
Find the life jackets. Check that each one fits the child who would wear it, and keep them where we can reach them.
Secure the pool. Latch gates, remove or secure the cover, and bring in toys and chairs.
Charge phones and write down emergency numbers. Keep a paper copy in a bag.
Talk to the children. Say it simply: we never go into water after a storm, even if it looks shallow.
⚠️ Step 2: During a Flood
Turn Around, Don’t Drown. Never walk, swim or drive through floodwater. We cannot see how deep or fast it is.
Keep children away from the edges. Stay back from flooded roads, creeks, storm drains and retention ponds.
Stay out of flooded rooms. Water near outlets, cords and appliances is also an electrical hazard.
Keep young children within arm’s reach. A few inches of water is enough for a child to drown.
Move to higher ground if told to. Follow local officials and evacuation orders.
Six inches can knock an adult down. The National Weather Service warns that just six inches of fast-moving water can knock an adult off their feet and about a foot can carry away a small car. Children are lighter. Do not let anyone test it.
🏠 Step 3: Home and Yard Check
Check basements and low rooms. Keep children out of rooms with standing water.
Empty buckets, wading pools and bins. Tip out any rainwater that has collected.
Check pool covers. Rain can pool on top of a cover. Keep children off it and away from it.
Walk the yard before children go out. Look for downed power lines, debris and new pools of water.
Check ditches, ponds and streams nearby. Swollen water can stay high and fast for days.
🧹 Step 4: After the Storm
Keep children out of floodwater. It can carry sewage, chemicals and germs.
Wash hands well and cover cuts. Do this after any contact with floodwater or cleanup.
Inspect the pool barrier. Check the fence, gate latch, alarms and drain covers for damage.
Do not swim until the weather has cleared. Wait for the all-clear after lightning, and ask a qualified professional to check the water and any electrical equipment.
Check the life jackets. Replace any that are torn, waterlogged or damaged.
📞 Step 5: Our Family Plan
Adult responsible for each child
Meeting place if we leave
Out-of-area contact name and number
Local emergency and non-emergency numbers
Where the life jackets are kept
Our pool or water hazards to check
In an emergency, call 911. If a child is in the water, call for help right away, reach or throw something to them and do not go in after them. Learn infant and child CPR.
🛟 Step 6: Layers of Protection
Close, undistracted supervision. Name a designated water watcher whenever there is water.
Barriers and alarms. Four-sided fences with self-latching gates, and door alarms where they help.
Life jackets near open water. Properly fitted and U.S. Coast Guard-approved.
Swim lessons and water comfort. Skills help, but no child is drown-proof, and lessons do not prepare a child for floodwater.