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Name ______Introduction Date ______With new residents moving to 1. Circle the months of Flash Season. Southern Nevada every month, many are unaware of the dangers of flash flooding. The January February March April May June Flash Flooding: Background Information Regional District works to educate residents July August September October November December Recorded reports of flooding in Clark County floodwater. Get out of areas that are subject about the intensity of summer date back almost 100 years. While can to flooding. Do not attempt to cross flooded rainstorms and the resulting 2. What are the three Ds? 3. How fast can floodwater move? and have occurred in almost every month of roadways and never play in or around flood the year, the most damaging typically control facilities. flooding that can occur. The District also works to educate 1. ______occur between July and September. During Floodwater these hot summer the students about flood safety by giving presentations in 2. ______months, moist, unstable Speed Limit air from the Gulf of classrooms. This supplemental material was developed for 3. ______Mexico is rapidly forced upward by hot air teacher use to educate Clark ______County students about flood 4. Detention basins and flood channels are good places currents. The dynamics safety. to play when it’s raining. _ of this process often results in spectacular True False displays of in Objective the sky. Too To teach students the dangers 5. List four things that can be found in floodwater. often, they also cause of flash floods. To deter severe students from playing in flood 1. ______2. ______with intense rainfall. control facilities, like channels Steep mountain slopes and detention basins, by and hard desert surfaces 3. ______4. ______educating them about the power cause the water to of floodwater and the 6. Where does floodwater end up after it ? 7. What color is floodwater? run off rapidly and concentrate in the contaminants the floodwater urbanized areas at lower elevations. Children should never play around floodwater contains. A secondary objective Lake Mead A Swimming Pool or in flood control facilities like washes, is for students to deliver a flood Blue Brown Green The drop in elevation from Red Rock channels, stormdrains or detention basins. safety message to their family Red Rock The Ocean Recreation Area to Lake Mead is The water can move as fast as 30 miles per members about the dangers of approximately 2,800 feet, about two and one hour and can sweep anyone away very easily. driving through flooded areas. half times as tall as the Stratosphere Tower. Not only is floodwater dangerous, it’s also 8. I can play in flood water if I am a good swimmer. Rainwater runs down that slope from the west incredibly dirty. runoff is filled with side of the to the east, making its way contaminates like oil, pesticides, trash, glass, True False to Lake Mead. Children especially need to rocks and construction materials (nails, wood, understand the force of floodwater as it wire, etc.). It is also filled with bacteria from 9. Floods can happen anywhere and any time, not just during Flash Flood Season. travels through the Valley during a . pet waste that runs off lawns, parks and golf They also need to understand how quickly courses. water can rise in channels and stormdrains. True False During the July 1999 100-year storm, one Listen to the radio or watch TV for the latest in the Valley went from being dry to flash flood information. You can see real-time 10. What should you do to stay safe when it is flooding? Write about it. carrying 7 feet of water in just eight minutes. rainfall amounts and weather radar at more than 185 locations around the Valley on the ______Most flood deaths occur in vehicles, and most District’s website, www.regionalflood.org. happen when drivers try to navigate through Find us on Facebook and follow floodwater. One inch of rapidly moving The Flood Channel is a 30-minute educational @RegionalFlood on Twitter. ______floodwater can cause a person to lose control television program that focuses on flood of their vehicle. Water that is two feet deep safety and flood control progress in the Download our app, FloodSpot, for ______can float a large vehicle, like an SUV, away. Valley. You can find episodes on Cox Cable iPhone and Android. It’s important to make smart decisions and channels 2 and 4; on the District’s website; keep yourself safe in a flooding situation. and on YouTube. www.befloodsafe.com ______Head for higher ground and stay away from

Flood Facts Classroom Activities Clark County School District K-5: Heath  The is like a bowl tipped on its side. Water runs from the west side of  Show the Desert Floods video. Discuss the dangerous things people are doing in the Curriculum Objectives the Valley to the east: from Red Rock to Lake Mead. video. Kindergarten  On average, we get about 4 inches of rainfall per year. In some of the Valley’s most 7.4 List types of health care workers.  Discuss a 100-year flood. Demonstrate the one percent chance of a storm of this severe storms, we have seen more than 3 inches of rainfall in 90 minutes. magnitude occurring in any given year. Use 99 blue marbles and one red marble. Place 1st Grade them in a jar. Without looking, have students choose one marble from the jar. With each 7.4 Identify health care workers and their duties in the  Floodwater can rush as fast as 30 miles per hour. When floodwater rushes through the community. pick, students had a one percent chance of choosing the 7.7 Identify environmental health messages found in streets and flood channels around town, it gets moving really fast. It only takes an inch of red marble. the community, such as "Give a Hoot, Don't Pollute," water to knock someone off their feet. "Don't Be a Bug," "Only You Can Prevent Forest ."  Students enjoy telling their flooding experiences.  Flash Flood Season is July, August and September. That is the most likely time for a Have them write a story about a storm. 2nd Grade 7.5 Identify situations that require individual decision flood, but flooding can occur any time of the year.  Discuss Flash Flood Season and the reasons making or decisions made with assistance. 7.6 Discuss environmental community resources,  Multi-use facilities are detention basins and channels that can also be used as summer storms are more likely to cause flooding such as recycling center, water district, Springs in Southern Nevada. Explain that while flash Preserve, farmer's markets, and national and state recreational facilities during dry months. The parks, ball fields and trails are great parks. flooding is more likely to occur in hot summer features for the community, but it’s important to remember their primary purpose is for months, historically floods in Clark County have 3rd Grade flood control. While It’s raining, or during Flash Flood Watches and Warnings, stay out of 7.3 Explain how the media influences consumer happened almost every month of the year. health choices both positively and negatively. these areas. 7.4 Identify situations in which a health care worker is  Have students discuss what precautions they needed.  Floodwater is not treated when it reaches Lake Mead. Everyone can help protect our should take during a storm. Include a discussion 7.6 Discuss environmental community resources, such as recycling center, water district, Springs environment by throwing trash in a trash can and cleaning up after your pet. Pet waste about lightning. Have them include precautions their Preserve, farmer's markets, and national and state parents or family members should take, especially parks. and trash clog stormdrains and cause flooding... Not to mention contaminating our concerning driving during storms. 4th Grade primary source of drinking water, Lake Mead. 7.2 Identify community programs which help promote  Talk about the types of contaminates students can community/environmental health, such as recycling,  Approximately two feet of floodwater can lift a car off the road. The determine are in stormwater (trash, fertilizer, pet waste, motor oil, etc.). Encourage a waste management, energy conservation, and water air in tires can make a vehicle more buoyant. This means cars with conservation. discussion of ways children and their families can help prevent pollution in stormwater and 7.3 Describe strategies that advertisers use to sell bigger tires, including trucks and SUV’s, can be even more dangerous. that flows to Lake Mead, our primary source of drinking water. their products. 7.4 Discuss when professional health services are  Using protective gloves, have students collect a sample of urban runoff (from over- needed. 7.6 Describe how community resources assist with watering lawns) and grow the bacteria. Compare the sample to bacteria collected from making personal health decisions, such as recycling,

playground equipment, tables, floors, etc. littering, water conservation. 7.7 Distinguish between consumer and environmental  Determine the flood dangers in students’ neighborhoods. Is the school near a natural health messages. Discuss the effects of consumer and environmental health messages on the 1. Dangerous wash, channel or ? community. Key Terms  Flood control facilities, like detention basins, are increasingly being used for dual 5th Grade 2. Dirty 7.1 Demonstrate personal responsibility when making  100-year flood: A flood event that has a one percent chance of purposes like playgrounds and ball fields. These are great places to play when it’s not decisions to protect oneself against environmental 3. Don’t Drive occurring in any given year. It is NOT a storm that only occurs once raining, but their main purpose is for flood control. Discuss ways to stay safe and make elements. every 100 years. smart decisions if rain is in the forecast or a flood is predicted. 7.3 Provide examples of how media literacy can Floodwater is full of trash, wood, nails, oil, soda cans, chemicals assist in making smart, responsible consumer and even pet waste. Never play in floodwater!  : Indicates that flash flooding is possible. choices.  Eat lunch at a multiuse facility. These facilities maximize taxpayer dollars in their 7.4 Discuss health services that are provided in the  Flash : Indicates that flooding conditions are community but residents must also take precautions when using these facilities. Talk community. about the warning signs that tell people what to do and how to stay safe during a flood. 7.5 Identify types of assistance that can be used already occurring or are imminent. when making a health-related decision. The District has a smartphone app,  During a storm, have students log on to the Regional Flood Control District’s 7.6 Discuss how community resources assist with  Channel/Wash: A ditch or where a natural of water making other personal health decisions. FloodSpot, available on iPhone and runs. These can be natural or concrete lined. website, www.regionalflood.org. There, you can calculate where the most rain is falling 7.7 Distinguish between consumer and environmental Android that helps the public stay safe and where it is falling the fastest. Have students track the movement of the storm through health messages. Discuss the effects of consumer  Stormdrain: A flood channel underneath the ground. Stormwater the Valley. and environmental health messages on the during floods. You can identify flooded can drop down into the drain through a metal grate beside the curb. community. areas, explore flood facts, find more These help prevent flooding on streets and neighborhoods.  Discuss the Valley’s geography. Explain that the west side of Las Vegas is 2,800 feet information about flood insurance and higher than the east. When it rains, all of the water flows west to east and ends up in Lake  Detention Basin: A flood control facility designed to detain the flow Mead. report clogged stormdrains. of water. These facilities look like a huge bathtub and allow a lot of The app is also home to a flood-fighting floodwater in quickly and release that water slowly through  Discuss the effects of urban runoff and stormwater pollution to Lake Mead. stormdrains and flood channels. superhero that helps teach kids about Floodwater from storms goes into Lake Mead untreated. Check out www.lvstormwater.com for more information about stormwater and what you can do to the dangers of floodwater through a  Caliche: A layer of hard subsoil or clay; also called “desert cement.” help keep it clean. fun, interactive game.