Rocket and Raven stand on a grassy hill beside a wide river. People jog along the top.
"This is a funny long hill," Rocket says.
Raven looks at the river and the houses below. "What do you notice? The hill is between them."
Nova hovers over the river. "Builders made this hill on purpose," she says. "Can you guess why?"
A levee is a long wall of earth built along a river.
A floodwall does the same job, but it is made of concrete.
Both help hold back high water during a flood.
Levees are built to handle only some floods. They do not remove all flood risk.
So people still need a flood plan.
Flood water is stronger than it looks.
The National Weather Service says 6 inches of fast water can knock over an adult.
One foot of moving water can carry away most cars.
Never walk, play or drive in flood water. Turn around!
| Statement | True or false? |
|---|---|
| Sandbags can make a temporary flood wall. | ? |
| Shallow flood water is always safe to walk in. | ? |
| Levees are built along rivers. | ? |
Moving water pushes hard. That push is a force, like you learned in Week 1.
Just 6 inches of fast water can knock over an adult.
One foot of moving water can carry away most cars.
That is why the rule is: turn around, don't drown.
| Flood design | True or false? |
|---|---|
| A floodwall is made of concrete. | ? |
| Levees can handle every flood, no matter how big. | ? |
| One foot of moving water can carry away most cars. | ? |
Wonderful! Tomorrow we look at tornado safety and judge designs like scientists.