Flood season has arrived across the Puget Sound region, and the minor flooding that has already occurred in both urban and rural areas are a strong reminder that flooding can affect communities with little or no notice.

Heavy precipitation is a fact of life this time of year. Rainfall can swiftly cause a stream or river to flood, damaging homes, properties and businesses, and knowing how to prepare for the possibility of flooding is an essential part of living in the Pacific Northwest.

Today’s “Take Winter by Storm” sandbag event focused on rural and urban flooding, and what residents can do to prepare themselves and their property for high water.

“King County has experienced 11 federally declared flood disasters since 1990, and flooding can occur along a river or stream at any time of the year,” said King County Executive Kurt Triplett. “It is only common sense to learn some of the basics about protecting themselves and their property.”

One way to combat rising water is the proper use of sandbags, and experts from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers were on hand at Auburn’s Les Gove Park on Monday to give a brief tutorial on proper sandbag construction and use.

As a demonstration, student teams from Auburn’s three high schools – Auburn High, Auburn Riverside and Auburn Mountainview – competed to see which team could fill the most sandbags in 10 minutes.

The finished sandbags were delivered to needy citizens in the Auburn area by volunteers from State Farm Insurance. The event also highlighted the need for volunteers to help in their communities when emergencies arise.

The sandbag competition was part of the “Take Winter by Storm” campaign, sponsored by King County, the City of Seattle, Puget Sound Energy and State Farm, which represent Washington state’s largest county, city, energy utilities and the leading insurer of homes and automobiles. These organizations have joined forces in the major multi-media public awareness campaign to protect lives and property. The Web site, www.takewinterbystorm.org, which will be up year-round, provides preparation and safety tips and links to regional resources for information about the weather, power outages, flooding, shelters and assistance agencies.

King County offers these tips on how to prepare for the possibility of flooding, and what to do when flooding occurs:

• Minimize flood damage by storing valuables and electronics higher, and by moving vehicles and equipment to high ground before flood waters rise.

• Dispose of hazardous chemicals such as lawn and gardening herbicides at one of the county’s household hazardous waste sites to help reduce harmful contaminates in flood waters.

• Never drive around any road closure sign erected because of flooding; the number-one cause of deaths during flood events is the failure of drivers to heed road closure signs, resulting in them being swept away by floodwaters.

Additional information on preparing for a flood is available at www.kingcounty.gov/safety/FloodPlan.aspx.

Volunteering information

For pre-incident volunteer registration, interested citizens can:

• Sign up to volunteer in advance of an event through United Way of King County, http://volunteer.united-e-way.org/uwkc/DisasterVolunteer. They can also sign up to be entered into United Way’s database with a reference to the type of support they can provide: https://volunteer.united-e-way.org/uwkc/volunteer/register/?final_return_url=&screen_name.

• Contact their local Office of Emergency Management.

During an incident, citizens interested in volunteering should listen to local media coverage; Requests for volunteers will be issued through TV and radio, along with instructions of where to call or show up.

Sandbag information

Here are general tips for sandbag filling and placement:

Sandbag filling

• Filling sandbags is a two-person operation. Both people should be wearing gloves to protect their hands. One member of the team should place the empty bag between or slightly in front of widespread feet with arms extended.

• The throat of the bag is folded to form a collar, and held with the hands in a position that will enable the other team member to empty a rounded shovel full of material into the open end.

• The person holding the sack should be standing with knees slightly flexed, and head and face as far away from the shovel as possible.

• The shoveler should carefully release the rounded shovel full of soil into the throat of the bag. Haste in this operation can result in undue spillage and added work.

• Bags should be filled between one-third to one-half of their capacity. This keeps the bag from getting too heavy, and permits the bags to be stacked with a good seal.

Sandbag placement

• Remove any debris from the area where the bags are to be placed.

• Fold the open end of the unfilled portion of the bag to form a triangle. If tied bags are used, flatten or flare the tied end.

• Place the partially filled bags lengthwise and parallel to the direction of flow, with the open end facing against the water flow.

• Tuck the flaps under, keeping the unfilled portion under the weight of the sack.

• Place succeeding bags on top, offsetting by one-half filled length of the previous bag, and stamp into place to eliminate voids, and form a tight seal.

• Stagger the joint connections when multiple layers are necessary.

More detailed instructions are available online at www.nws.usace.army.mil under “Emergency Management, Flood Fight Info.”

Residents of the middle Green River Valley are invited to make and take home free sandbags – and free advice on how to use them – on Wednesday, Nov. 11 at Flaming Geyser State Park near Auburn.

The sandbags will be available from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Nov. 11 near the park lodge, at 23700 SE Flaming Geyser Road. For more information, contact Karen Kinney, King County Agriculture Program, at 206263-6429; or karen.kinney@kingcounty.gov.

The sandbags and tips on their use are being provided by the King County Flood Control District, the King County Agriculture Program and the King County Agriculture Commission. Representatives from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will be on hand to provide advice and tips for using sandbags.

For more information about sandbags from the cities of Auburn or Kent at www.kingcounty.gov/environment/waterandland/flooding/sandbag-distribution.aspx.