Do Don't

Switch off all electrical and gas appliances, and turn services off at the Don't walk through flowing water - currents can be deceptive, and shallow, fast
mains. moving water can knock you off your feet.

Take your emergency kit and try to let your friends and family where you are Don't swim through fast flowing water - you may get swept away or struck by an
going. object in the water.

Avoid contact with flood water - it may be contaminated with sewage, oil, Don't drive through a flooded area - You may not be able to see abrupt drop-
chemicals or other substances. offs and only half a metre of flood water can carry a car away. Driving through
flood water can also cause additional damage to nearby property.

If you have to walk in standing water, use a pole or stick to ensure that you Don’t return to your property until the “All Clear” has been given.
do not step into deep water, open manholes or ditches.

Stay away from power lines - electrical current can travel through water. Don’t reconnect your power supply until a qualified engineer has checked it.  Be
Report power lines that are down to the power company. alert for gas leaks - do not smoke or use candles, lanterns, or open flames.

Look before you step - after a flood, the ground and floors are covered with Don’t eat any food that has come into contact with flood water.
debris, which may include broken bottles, sharp objects, nails etc. Floors
and stairs covered with mud and debris can be slippery.

A flood is an overflow of an expanse of water that submerges land.[1] The EU Floods directive
defines a flood as a temporary covering by water of land not normally covered by water. [2]In the
sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Flooding may
result from the volume of water within a body of water, such as a river or lake, which overflows
or breaks levees, with the result that some of the water escapes its usual boundaries.[3] While the
size of a lake or other body of water will vary with seasonal changes in precipitation and snow
melt, it is not a significant flood unless such escapes of water endanger land areas used by man
like a village, city or other inhabited area.

Floods can also occur in rivers, when flow exceeds the capacity of the river channel, particularly
at bends or meanders. Floods often cause damage to homes and businesses if they are placed in
natural flood plains of rivers. While flood damage can be virtually eliminated by moving away
from rivers and other bodies of water, since time out of mind, people have lived and worked by
the water to seek sustenance and capitalize on the gains of cheap and easy travel and commerce
by being near water. That humans continue to inhabit areas threatened by flood damage is
evidence that the perceived value of living near the water exceeds the cost of repeated periodic
flooding.

Principal types and causes

Riverine

 Slow kinds: Runoff from sustained rainfall or rapid snow melt exceeding the capacity of
a river's channel. Causes include heavy rains from monsoons, hurricanes and tropical
depressions, foreign winds and warm rain affecting snow pack. Unexpected drainage
obstructions such as landslides, ice, or debris can cause slow flooding upstream of the
obstruction.
 Fast kinds: include flash floods resulting from convective precipitation (intense
thunderstorms) or sudden release from an upstream impoundment created behind a dam,
landslide, or glacier.
Estuarine

 Commonly caused by a combination of sea tidal surges caused by storm-force winds. A

storm surge, from either a tropical cyclone or an extratropical cyclone, falls within this
category.

Coastal

 Caused by severe sea storms, or as a result of another hazard (e.g. tsunami or hurricane).
A storm surge, from either a tropical cyclone or an extratropical cyclone, falls within this
category.

Catastrophic

 Caused by a significant and unexpected event e.g. dam breakage, or as a result of another
hazard (e.g. earthquake or volcanic eruption).

Muddy

 A muddy flood is generated by run off on crop land.

A muddy flood is produced by an accumulation of runoff generated on cropland. Sediments are

then detached by runoff and carried as suspended matter or bedload. Muddy runoff is more likely
detected when it reaches inhabited areas.

Muddy floods are therefore a hillslope process, and confusion with mudflows produced by mass
movements should be avoided.

A traffic collision (motor vehicle collision, motor vehicle accident, car accident, or car
crash) is when a road vehicle collides with another vehicle, pedestrian, animal, road debris, or
other geographical or architectural obstacle. Traffic collisions can result in injury, property
damage, and death.

A number of factors contribute to the risk of collision including; vehicle design, speed of
operation, road design, and driver impairment. Worldwide motor vehicle collisions lead to
significant death and disability as well as significant financial costs to both society and the
individua
Though it is very unfortunate but it is true that car accident is a common incident in each and every
American's life. At least once in a life time they have experienced car accident. Car accident is one of
the major reasons causing death and injury in Alabama. Car accidents can take place due to several
reasons including drunk driving, not wearing seatbelts, using cell phones while driving, not adhering to
the traffic rules and so on. Whatever the reason is car accidents are almost inevitable because both
drivers and pedestrians are not as careful as they should be.

Now keeping this unpleasant fact in mind here are a few guidelines that you should follow if you
experience car accident.

Dos:
1. Seek medical treatment when you are injured in an accident. Even if you don't feel any immediate
injury there might be internal injuries to be discovered later on. Therefore you should ask a doctor to
treat you. When you seek medical help make sure not to exaggerate and represent exactly what has
happened to you.

2. If you need to revisit the doctor according to the medical report don't hesitate to do that even if
you feel okay. Keep the prescription with you. This may help you later on to get compensation.

3. Have all your medical bills ready for submitting to your health insurance company. The company is
going to pay the bills but not until your case is settled. So keep all the necessary documents safely.
Don't throw away anything.

4. If possible take snaps of the parts of your vehicle that has been damaged in the accident. Visual
evidence always makes your case stronger. It is a good practice to have visual evidence that you can
submit in the court.

5. Hire an Alabama auto accident lawyer to represent you in the court.

Don'ts:

1. Don't talk about the accident in public without consulting your lawyer. Never ever give a recorded
statement of the accident to anyone. Make sure not to say anything that may have a negative impact
on your case.

2. Never sign authorization letter for anybody and allow them to do anything without taking legal
advice from your lawyer. Signing anything without your lawyer's permission is not a good idea.

3. It is quite tempting to discuss about the accident with your friends on social networking sites. But
don't post anything on these sites because disclosing everything in public is not a good idea. Don't
share the detail information of the accident with any one.   

4. Don't write about the accident in your dairy or journal. Having a written document can be
dangerous. If you unknowingly write something negative, it may sabotage your claim. Therefore
consult your car accident lawyer before taking any such step.