When flooding strikes in the City of Asheville, multiple agencies respond to close roads and notify residents of safety measures they should take.
For example, even prior to flooding, Stormwater Services clears stormwater drains to minimize localized flooding.
When the City realizes there is the potential for flooding, residents can find information on the City of Asheville’s news blog, linked from the City of Asheville website and found at this direct link, plus City social media channels, including Asheville Fire and Police department Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages.
In addition the City deploys its AVL Alert system, and encourages all residents to sign up for it. In an improved process, our goal is to send a citywide alert notifying residents highlighting which roads are likely to flood, in a major event.
From there City staff monitor flooding and post updates on the City’s news blog and social media, as weather conditions evolve and there is a need for more — or fewer — road closings. During major events, updates are sent to local news media as well.
It’s important for the community to understand the City is monitoring flooded and barricaded roads frequently.
We want everyone to realize that even after water has receded, roads may remain barricaded so they can be cleaned of debris prior to reopening. The City takes the safety of our residents seriously and that is why barricades remain in place until the roads are passable.
Another step in our process improvement is to notify the public when the roads are reopened through a follow-up AVL Alert. Again, we urge all residents to sign up for this free emergency notification service in which messages can be delivered via email, phone text or phone call. Here is the link to sign up. Visit this link for a video tutorial.
City of Asheville departments work together in a major event, pulling in employees from the Streets and Stormwater Divisions, Asheville Fire and Police departments and our Communication and Public Engagement team. We want everyone to stay safe during any major flooding event! Our goal is to be more proactive than ever about flooding notifications to keep our community in the know.