PRINTER'S NO. 2739
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE RESOLUTION
No. 345
Session of
2024
INTRODUCED BY WARREN, ZIMMERMAN, VENKAT, JOZWIAK, GIRAL, VITALI,
LEADBETER, HOHENSTEIN, CIRESI, FLICK, D. WILLIAMS AND
DELLOSO, MARCH 19, 2024
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON VETERANS AFFAIRS AND EMERGENCY
PREPAREDNESS, MARCH 19, 2024
A RESOLUTION
1 Recognizing the week of March 18 through 22, 2024, as "Flood
2 Awareness Week" in Pennsylvania.
3 WHEREAS, Act 22 of 2023 established the Flood Insurance
4 Premium Assistance Task Force to review existing statutes,
5 practices and rules relating to flood insurance in this
6 Commonwealth; and
7 WHEREAS, One of the duties of the task force is to complete a
8 report that includes information on how to educate residents of
9 this Commonwealth about the risk of flooding, as well as ways to
10 mitigate the occurrence of floods; and
11 WHEREAS, The National Weather Service recognizes the week of
12 March 18 through 22, 2024, as "Flood Awareness Week" and
13 provides information to educate people on the dangers of
14 flooding and prepare them for the future; and
15 WHEREAS, Of all natural disasters, flooding is the most
16 common in this Commonwealth; and
17 WHEREAS, Flooding can cause damage to homes and buildings,
 1 cause power outages, disrupt transportation routes and
2 commercial supply chains and damage crops; and
3 WHEREAS, Flooding can also impact human health as floodwaters
4 can carry contaminants and pollute drinking water; and
5 WHEREAS, People with low incomes, people who are elderly or
6 experiencing homelessness and communities of color may be
7 disproportionately impacted by flooding as they are less likely
8 to have flood insurance or the ability to relocate during a
9 flood; and
10 WHEREAS, Flooding can cause environmental problems such as
11 landslides and mudslides; and
12 WHEREAS, Flooding typically develops in this Commonwealth as
13 a result of excessive rainfall or a combination of melting snow
14 and rainfall, often occurring in the spring due to snow melting
15 quickly in the warmer temperatures; and
16 WHEREAS, Several historically significant floods have
17 occurred throughout this Commonwealth's history, including the
18 following:
19 (1) The Great Flood of 1889 in Johnstown.
20 (2) The St. Patrick's Day floods in 1936.
21 (3) The floods caused by Hurricanes Connie and Diane in
22 1955.
23 (4) The floods caused by Hurricane Agnes in 1972.
24 (5) The snowmelt floods in January 1996;
25 and
26 WHEREAS, In 2023, this Commonwealth experienced two major
27 flooding events in July and December, the costs of which each
28 exceeded $1 million, and the July flooding even resulted in
29 seven deaths in Bucks County; and
30 WHEREAS, The Center for Climate Integrity notes that
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 1 investments are needed to improve this Commonwealth's
2 infrastructure to face flooding events, such as increasing storm
3 drainage capacity in towns and building retaining walls to
4 protect from landslides and rising sea levels; and
5 WHEREAS, How people manage waterways, such as dams, levees
6 and reservoirs, and alterations made to land, such as installing
7 impermeable roads and parking lots, can change natural drainage
8 systems and play a role in flooding; and
9 WHEREAS, Extreme precipitation events often linked to climate
10 change, such as hurricane frequency and severity and rising sea
11 levels, are also key factors that lead to flooding; and
12 WHEREAS, In 2016, the United States Environmental Protection
13 Agency concluded that this Commonwealth had already seen a 5% to
14 10% increase in rainfall per year due to climate change; and
15 WHEREAS, This Commonwealth is expected to see larger, more
16 frequent and more intense extreme rainfall events; and
17 WHEREAS, The National Weather Service issues two types of
18 flood alerts: a flood watch and flood warning; and
19 WHEREAS, A flood watch means that flooding may occur and that
20 residents should stay alert for possible flooding; and
21 WHEREAS, A flood warning means that there is actual flooding
22 occurring to which residents may need to respond; and
23 WHEREAS, In preparation for a flood, residents of this
24 Commonwealth are encouraged to use sandbags or other materials
25 to protect their homes from flood waters, have a professional
26 install check-valves in plumbing and ensure coverage for
27 flooding with insurance providers since standard homeowners
28 insurance does not cover flooding; and
29 WHEREAS, Before a flood, residents of this Commonwealth are
30 also encouraged to create a communications plan to contact
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 1 friends and family in case of disaster, assemble an emergency
2 kit with enough food, water and medicine to last at least three
3 days, know which spots on their property are likely to flood and
4 charge essential electronics; and
5 WHEREAS, During a flood, residents of this Commonwealth
6 should remain aware of changing weather conditions, move to
7 higher ground, obey evacuation orders, practice electrical
8 safety by avoiding water that may have electricity in it and
9 avoid flood waters; and
10 WHEREAS, As people often underestimate the strength of flood
11 water, the National Weather Service notes that the safest thing
12 to do when approaching a flooded area, whether walking or
13 driving, is to turn around; therefore be it
14 RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives recognize the
15 week of March 18 through 22, 2024, as "Flood Awareness Week" in
16 Pennsylvania; and be it further
17 RESOLVED, That Pennsylvanians observe "Flood Awareness Week"
18 by practicing flood safety procedures in their homes and places
19 of work.
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