Severe Weather and Flood Safety Week: Types of flooding

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) - March 2 through March 8 is ‘Severe Weather and Flood Safety Week’ across the state of South Carolina.

Each day of this week, we will be covering various Severe Weather Topics to better prepare you and your family for any weather situation that may arise this spring.

Thursday’s topic is “Types of Flooding.” Here in the Coastal Empire and Lowcountry, flooding can happen in a couple of ways like Thunderstorms, Tropical systems, and rivers.

These create different types of flooding situations. The first of these is Flash Flooding. This usually happens very quickly from rapidly rising water levels in stream and runoffs.

Then there’s Areal Flooding. This is the gradual build of water levels in low lying areas. This type of flooding takes up an entire area and could take some time to go away.

River Flooding is the one we are way too familiar with after last September. This happens as overflowing rivers flood surrounding areas.

The last one is Coastal Flooding. This happens when sea levels begin to rise due to stronger onshore winds. This type of flooding requires no rain and could happen on a sunny day for coastal areas.

Regardless of what type of flood we are seeing, you’ll want to make sure to have a plan in place and stay connected.

On both the free WTOC First Alert Weather app and NOAA Weather Radios, watches and warnings are normally issued by the county or river instead of the city. So, make sure you know what county you live in.