Flood Readiness: Simple Steps for Your Home

Flooding can happen quickly—especially during intense storms or high tides. While long-term flood protection projects are essential, simple household readiness steps can reduce damage, stress, and recovery time when flooding occurs.

Why Flood Readiness Matters

Illustrated diagram of a single-story house showing labeled areas related to water and moisture pathways. The front of the house faces a street, with labels for “Street,” “Front yard,” “Driveway,” and “Garage.” The backyard is labeled on the left side. Beneath the house, the area is labeled “Crawl space.” A thought-bubble style label reading “Moisture inside” appears near the right side of the house, indicating indoor moisture concerns. The image is a simplified, educational graphic with clear labels and no people.
Water can enter or collect around homes in many places—from yards and driveways to garages, crawl spaces, and indoor areas. Start by noticing where water shows up around your home.

Even shallow flooding in your home and garage can:

  • Lead to costly repairs and long recovery times
  • Damage floors, walls, appliances, and electrical systems
  • Create health risks from mold and contaminated water

Taking steps to prepare ahead of time can:

  • Reduce property damage
  • Improve safety during storms
  • Support faster cleanup and recovery
  • Complement long-term flood resilience projects in your community

Preparedness and Storm Safety Checklists

The resources below offer practical, easy-to-use guidance to help households build preparedness over time and stay safe before, during, and after storms.

A two-row infographic titled “Preparedness Calendar – Step-by-Step Toward Getting You Prepared,” created by San Mateo County Emergency Management and the County of San Mateo, California. The calendar outlines a 12-week plan to build a 3–7 day emergency supply kit. Each week is shown in a blue-titled box (Week 1 through Week 12) with checklists for where to shop (grocery store, hardware store, first aid supplies, or pet care store), specific items to buy (such as water, canned food, flashlights, batteries, hygiene items, first aid supplies, and pet needs), and red “Action Steps” with preparedness tasks (such as dating food, identifying emergency contacts, making family plans, practicing evacuation routes, testing smoke detectors, and storing important documents). A note indicates quantities are per person. The layout is dense, text-heavy, and instructional, designed as a practical household emergency preparedness guide.

Preparedness Calendar

A week-by-week emergency preparedness guide that helps households build essential supplies and plans over time, supporting readiness for flooding and other emergencies. (Available in multiple languages.)

Belle Air Neighborhood Storm Season Safety Flyer

A step-by-step safety guide to help San Bruno’s Belle Air households prepare for storms, stay safe during flooding, and recover afterward, with local contacts, alert systems, and evacuation guidance. (English, Spanish)

Flood Protection Supplies and How to Choose Them

Flood protection supplies can help keep water out of homes, manage water that enters, and protect people and belongings.

There are many ways to reduce flood risk at home, from simple steps like elevating appliances and important documents to tools such as flood barriers, pumps, and drainage improvements. The right supplies and the right setup depend on how flooding happens, the layout of your home, and your household’s needs.

Chooding the Right Flood-Ready Supplies

“Not sure where to start? OneShoreline and our partners have created an easy-to-use Flood Supplies Decision Guide (English / Spanish) to help households choose flood protection options that fit their situation.

This guide helps you identify your flood concern, such as where water comes from or what areas of your home get wet, and walks through common flood protection options. It explains what different tools do, how much setup is involved, and which approaches may work best for your home.

Collage of household flood protection and cleanup tools arranged in circular frames on a black background. Images include roof gutters and downspouts, an underground drainage pipe surrounded by rocks, a temporary flood barrier installed across a doorway, and a waterproof floor sealant being applied. Additional images show sump pumps and utility pumps with hoses, a commercial drying fan and a portable dehumidifier, a raised washer and dryer, metal shelving for elevated storage, rubber boots with a shovel and tarp for cleanup, and a water or flood sensor with wiring. The graphic illustrates a range of exterior drainage, flood prevention, water removal, drying, storage, and cleanup solutions for homes.
Examples of common household flood protection tools, ranging from drainage and barriers to pumps, dehumidifiers, elevated storage, cleanup supplies, and flood alerts.

Stay Alert and Ready

Emergency alerts and mapping tools help you track changing conditions and respond quickly during storms.

Close-up of a person standing in shallow water, wearing black rubber rain boots and rolled-up camouflage-pattern pants. The boots are partially submerged on a wet concrete or paved surface, suggesting flooding or heavy rain conditions.

➡️Sign up for San Mateo County emergency alerts (SMC Alert) and add your address so you recieve alerts that apply to your neighborhood.

➡️Install the Genasys Protect app on your mobile device and get familiar with the map feature to track evacuation zones and orders.

⚠️In an emergency, always call 9-1-1.

Other Resources