Every year, more homes in the US are damaged by flooding than by any other natural disaster.  One-in-four flood insurance claims come from low to moderate risk areas.  Floods don't just damage buildings.  Floods also can damage our creeks.

Most flooding in Charlotte-Mecklenburg is caused by heavy thunderstorms or tropical storms.   As our community has grown, new roads, homes, businesses and parking lots mean less open space to absorb rainfall.  Excess runoff surges into storm drains, then fills our creeks—sometimes to overflowing.  More buildings are now at risk of flooding.

Flooding along Catawba River in Mecklenburg

Sometimes, our county's 3,000 miles of streams simply cannot hold all of the runoff, and floodwater spills over the creek banks.  Flooding also can happen when creeks are blocked by debris. 

Street flooding can occur when storm drains are blocked or drainage pipes aren't large enough.  Sometimes, rain is so intense that it overwhelms the storm drainage system and floods streets.  Because it's often hard to tell how deep the water is, emergency crews say don't drive through standing water.

Even if your property isn't flooded, you can be impacted indirectly.  Flooding damages our creeks.  Floodwater often flows very fast, scouring the sides of the stream banks.  Soil particles are swept away, changing the path of the stream and making the stream banks unstable.  When the water speed eventually slows down, the sediment sinks to the bottom, often smothering aquatic life.  Sediment is one of the top pollutants in Charlotte-Mecklenburg streams.

Badly-eroded stream banks can topple trees and add to sediment pollution