Flood Zone, March 2008

Inside This Issue	March 2008

Spring Workshop Registration in Progress!	Send Us Your Photos!
Swollen River Floats Roofed Structure into Bridge

The AFMA spring workshop will be held April 17-18 at the Jacksonville Community Center. Registration is underway for this annual event you don’t want to miss!

CFMs! Don’t miss your mid-year opportunity for continuing education credits (CECs).
New to floodplain management? This event is a GREAT introduction to FEMA and floodplain management basics. We strongly encourage you to attend the spring workshop before attending the AFMA fall conference.

View the 2008 AFMA spring workshop agenda.

Important Dates

Register before March 31, 2008 and take advantage of the early-bird discount rate!
Hotel reservation deadline: April 9, 2008.
Conference registration deadline: Registrations must be postmarked by
April 4, 2008.

Click here to register for this event and for additional information about directions and accommodations.


	AFMA welcomes contributions from throughout the Arkansas floodplain management community. Help promote flood awareness by sharing your photos of: Flood events Mitigation efforts FEMA teams mobilized in your area Post-flood damage We are now seeking photos from last week's flood. Click here to share your amazing pictures!



While surveying rising flood waters in Izard County, a USGS team captures amazing video of a roofed structure slamming into the White River bridge on Arkansas State Highway 5. Courtesy USGS Arkansas Water Science Center.

I don't think the National Weather Service could have selected a better time to observe Flood Safety Awareness Week than last week. While it seems ironic that some of the worst flooding we have seen in more than a decade occurred during this annual campaign, I couldn't help but wonder what the odds are that something like this would happen during Flood Safety Awareness Week!

Then I saw a TV interview with a resident in Missouri who lives just across the Arkansas state line. This guy was explaining to a reporter the conversation he had with his real estate agent some 10 years ago when he bought his house, which stands about the length of a football field from a nearby river.

When asked about the potential for flooding, the agent told him not to worry because the house was in an area that flooded maybe once every 500 years. As he went back to placing sandbags around his house, the resident joked to the reporter that the agent didn't specify how long ago that last flood had actually occurred.

Floods can happen at any time. Whether you live in a 100-year floodplain or a 500-year floodplain, you should always be vigilant. Even if heavy rainfall does not occur in your area, if you live downstream, rest assured that water will be paying you a visit several days later. Click here for real-time data from river gauges monitored by the Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service at the National Weather Service in Little Rock.

We all have seen some amazing flood images in the last week, but many of these have appeared in the national media from areas outside of Arkansas. Except for the amazing video shot by our friends over at the USGS Arkansas Water Science Center! If you or someone you know has captured a unique photo or video of the flooding that is occurring in our state, I invite you to share it with the entire Arkansas floodplain management community. Please click here and submit your contribution.

And finally, one more note about last week. Thursday was the first day of Spring, which means our annual Spring Workshop in Jacksonville is coming up fast. If you haven't done so already, please register as soon as possible. We need to have an accurate head-count for planning purposes. We would like to thank ETC Engineers, Inc. in Little Rock for sponsoring this mid-year technical meeting and we look forward to seeing everyone in the next couple of weeks.

As always, your comments and suggestions are welcome at any time.

Conrad Battreal, PE, CFM
Email Conrad