The Importance of Being Prepared
Compare Risks
Your chances of being flooded are much greater than other risks you face daily. If you live in a 100-year floodplain there is more than a 1 in 4 chance you will be flooded during your 30-year mortgage. You are 27 times more likely to experience a flood than a fire during that same 30-year mortgage.
Be Prepared
Flooding occurs when water accumulates faster then it can escape. There are many reasons this happens including naturally occurring depressions, inadequate or ineffective drainage and excessive rainfall.
Because of the large number of lakes, rivers, and streams in the County flooding can become a big problem very quickly. Your ability to prepare for this depends on your understanding of where the water is likely to come from and how it is likely to affect you.
Ask yourself these questions;
Do you live on or near a lake, river, or stream?
Do you live in a low area that has the potential to collect water from the surrounding area?
Do you know of any drainage problems in your area?
Has there been any past flooding in your area?
Being able to understand where the water might come from is an important part of getting out of its way.
There is an important resource which aids in preventing loss of life, saves one billion dollars a year in property losses. Yet, it is a resource that the general public knows very little about. This resource is the USGS stream-gaging network.
Stream-gages provide stream flow information for a wide variety of uses including flood prediction, water management and allocation, engineering design, research, operation of locks and dams, and recreational safety and enjoyment. These stream-gages are operated by the US Geological Service and their partners such as the South West Florida Water Management Department. Over 90% of these stream gages electronically record and transmit stream flow information by satellite, which is then uploaded to the World Wide Web in near real-time.
Take a look at http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis to see if a Lake, River, or Stream near you has a Gage that can be used to help protect you, your property, and your family.
Below is a list of SOME potential flooding sources and areas that have flooded in the past.
| Flooding Sources |
| Bowlegs Creek |
| Polly Creek |
| Gator Creek |
| Saddle Creek |
| Itchepackesassa |
| Peace Creek Drainage Canal |
| Upper and Lower Peace River |
| Lake Hancock |
| Lake Seward |
| Saddle Bag |
| Lake Parker |
| Lake Belle |
| Winston Creek |
| Wilson Creek |
| Crooked Lake |
| Reedy Lake |
| Past Areas of Flooding |
| Lake Clinch/ Frostproof (2004) |
| Elizabeth Place (2004) |
| Village Park MHP (1995, 1997, 2004) |
| Red Hawk (2004) |
| Christina (2004) |
| Sun Air (2004) |
| Maple Hill (2004) |
| Turner Road (2004) |
| Woodlawn/Golf view (Yearly) |
| South Lake Wales development (Yearly) |
| Wilson Acres (2004) |
| Heather Heights (2004) |
| Berkley Road/Irvine Drive (2004) |
| Coolly Road (2004) |
| 540/ US 27 (Waverly Rd) (1998, 2004) |
| Peace River MHP (1998, 2004) |