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Responding to a flood

Response workflow for flooding, from Day 1 to 2-3 weeks

Before sending volunteers out

Wait until your community has been deemed safe before sending volunteers out. Use this time to connect with your EMD, fire chief, and town managers, and to build a one-to-two-week sign-up volunteer plan to share via Front Porch Forum, social media, and other outlets.

In the event of a flood

  1. Contact local administrators/EMD/fire departments/community contacts on 1.9: Directory of Local Leaders ( open the live spreadsheet ) and/or regional leaders
  2. Identify areas of the community that were most severely impacted (surveying damage, asking fire chief/EMD, local facebook groups where people are posting photos of damage, get in car/on foot see the damage so when you start mucking and gutting you know where to send people)
  3. Contact other team members involved in response: 1.9 Neighbor Directory / 1.9: Directory of Local Leaders
  4. Create spreadsheets using templates for this event, like this one
  5. Coordinate Volunteers to go door-to-door in communities to survey data using Crisis CleanUp and/or damage assessment forms. 1.10 Volunteer Management
  6. Launch sign-up genius for a few days or more, depending on severity
    • Post link to sign up genius on FPF, social media, other outlets
    • Automate the volunteer waiver in SignUp Genius
    • Set up shifts to survey impacted areas, assess damage, and pump basements if needed
    • If extensive mucking/gutting needs to be done, launch signup genius for two weeks (as far out as you can schedule)
  7. Connect with 1.9: Directory of Local Leaders to access hub and tools/ response kit.
  8. When safe, set up and/or open hub for volunteers, response kit, take note of inventory, and gather needed tools 1.11 Flood Recovery Supplies and Work
  9. Coordinate volunteers for mucking days. Identify team leads and volunteers with trucks to move pumps. 1.10 Volunteer Management
  10. Carpool when possible
  11. Clean tools upon return each day.
  12. Take inventory of what comes back/ file paperwork
  13. Continue to coordinate with Town Manager/ Fire Chief/ identified contacts
    • Share reports as they request

How to use this kit

See what goes in a response kit in the RAFT Response Kit list, then use the guides below.

At the end of the response

  1. Clean everything
  2. Take inventory
  3. Send report out of what was completed to:
    • State agencies
    • Local agencies
    • Long-term recovery groups

Resources for organizing an effective response

2-week response volunteer slots

  • Hub Coordinator: at least 1 person all day there are volunteers
  • Canvaser: 1-2 for the first few days.
    • Canvasing affected areas for needs
    • Taking notes/ getting paperwork signed for job sites
  • Trash pump operator: 1 per shift with truck is best.
  • Sump pump operator: 1 per pump (two pumps per hub)

Once homes are pumped:

  • Mucking lead: 1 Per team (two kits per hub)
  • Mucking volunteer: 3-4 per team

Create a spreadsheet to track work sites, volunteers, town/state contacts: Spreadsheet templates