Locate the affected area
Read the place names and instructions in the official alert, not just a colored shape on a map. A flood warning may cover a river reach, coastal area or a rapidly developing flash-flood threat. The time rain falls at your location is not necessarily the time flooding will occur there.
Avoid flooded routes
Do not walk or drive through floodwater. Water can hide damaged road surfaces and other hazards, and its force is difficult to judge from appearance. Obey road closures and evacuation instructions. If officials tell you to leave, use their recommended routes and move to a safe location.
Use current local information
Check local emergency-management updates before travelling. Forecast rainfall, river levels and official flood warnings are different sources of information; one cannot stand in for the others. This site currently shows connected official warnings, not a flood-depth model or a safe-road navigation system.
Questions the map cannot answer
This site does not show water depth, road closures or a safe driving route. A polygon can cover a river reach that floods hours after rain falls somewhere else. If you only check the rainfall number in a city forecast, you can miss a warning that is already in effect downstream. Read the place names in the message, then check the local road authority before you travel.
If you are told to leave
Follow the route and timing given by local officials. Do not wait for this website to repeat an evacuation order. Take prescribed medication and documents you would need for a night away, and do not walk through moving water to retrieve property. Six inches of fast water can knock a person down. If water is already across the only exit, move to higher ground inside a sturdy building and call emergency services rather than driving into the flow.
Sources and further reading
Official National Weather Service reference. Source checked September 28, 2026. This general guide does not replace a current warning or advice from local authorities.
Check current warnings
Explore related live official warnings, or search your location for a forecast.