Today kicks off Iowa’s 2015 Severe Weather Awareness Week.  Each day focuses on a different severe weather topic and today we start with flash flooding.

According to the National Weather Service, more than 140 fatalities happen each year as the result of flash flooding.  That’s more than any other thunderstorm related hazard.

Dallas County Emergency Management Coordinator Barry Halling says one of the best things you can do is be aware of your surroundings.

“Stay out of low lying areas.  The reason this usually happens is because rain keeps coming over the same area for a large period of time.  If you just have a normal spring type shower or thunderstorm, that dumps around an inch of rain, usually that isn’t a problem.  But when it keeps going over the same area over and over again, with an inch or two each time it rains, that tends to bring up creeks and streams to the max and that’s what causes your problems.”

Flash flooding is defined as a rapid rise of water along a stream or low-lying urban area.

Almost half of all flash flood fatalities occur in vehicles, so it’s important to remember the catch phrase “Turn around, don’t drown.”