Flood of 2011? Be prepared

Now, it’s getting serious for flood watchers.

It’s almost May and very little of the snow in our surrounding mountains has melted.

That portends trouble for streams and rivers — and homeowners and businesses near them. With a massive snowpack that’s 167 percent of average, it may not be a matter of if but rather when

 high water creates problems on and along our waterways.

Consider these chilling numbers:

— Almost 15 feet of snow is piled up at Noisy Basin near Jewel Basin Hiking Area. That snow contains 6 feet of water.

— The snow-water equivalent at measuring sites such as Many Glacier and Grave Creek is 300 percent of average. At several other places, the numbers are more than 200 percent of average.

The longer the snow lingers and cool weather prevents melting, the worse the prospects for catastrophe in the event of a real warming trend or rainfall (or both together).

Many people are concerned that this year is shaping up as a repeat of 1964’s historic flooding.

Spring 1964 was, like this year, a time when the snow piled high and stayed late in the mountains.

Snowpack was 75 percent above average in 1964 but it all melted over a two-day span and poured down the mountainsides during monsoon-like rains (Essex got 11 inches in 30 hours; Marias Pass got 15.5 inches).

The damage was extensive: In Evergreen, the water reached La Salle Road (now U.S. 2). In Bad Rock Canyon, the highway was six to eight feet underwater; in Columbia Falls, the area below Nucleus Avenue was inundated. Several hundred homes were flooded; five bridges along the Middle Fork and the main stem of the Flathead River were washed out or damaged; six miles of railroad track and 20 miles of highway were washed away.

The Flathead River crested 12.5 feet above flood stage in June 1964.

That flooding represented, by some measures, one of the most powerful flash floods in the United States during the 20th century.

This recitation of scary history should serve as a stark wake-up call to people today. Although it’s unlikely 1964 could be repeated in 2011, it’s possible, depending on precipitation. A flood of nearly 1964 proportions has the potential to do even more damage today, since over the intervening 47 years many more structures have been built and thousands more people are living in harm’s way.

It’s not just the big rivers that could be troublesome: Smaller watercourses can do damage, too.

So words to the wise for anyone near the water: Be prepared.

That starts with preparing plans for protecting your property and includes evacuation plans and preparing emergency “survival packs” of food and essentials that can last several days.

Another big necessity is flood insurance.

First, find out if you’re in a flood plain, and remember that flooding can occur at any time and any location.

Some flood-insurance policies don’t take effect until 30 days after signing, and National Weather Service predictions call for peak runoff at the end of May or early June, so 30 days is not far off.

People may contact their insurance agents for additional information about flood plains and flood insurance or contact the National Flood Insurance Program, a division of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, at 888-379-9531 or at www.floodsmart.gov.

People who want specific flood-plain area information can call the Flathead County Planning and Zoning Office at 751-8200 or go to the office on the second floor of the Earl Bennett Building in Kalispell.

We might be fortunate and dodge major flooding woes. But we need to be prepared for the worst.