Question

Which of the following statements is true about flood warning?
A) Should not be released until information is certain
B) Should indicate what the threat is, what action should be taken, by whom and when
C) It should come from a single source
D) All of these

Answer 1

Hint: Flood refers to the natural calamity in which there is an overflow of water onto the lands that are normally supposed to be dry. They occur due to heavy rainfall in river plains and it may also be caused by tsunamis or by an earthquake in a large water body.

Complete answer:
A flood warning is released when a flood is approaching or is occurring at the moment. These warnings can either be for a flood or a flash flood.

Now let us analyze the given options:
Option A) Should not be released until information – Any information before being released should always be verified and certain. In the case of a flood, if it is wrongly informed to the people that a flood might occur and that people should take precaution, it is not going to cause any harm to the people. Thus, this option is incorrect.
Option B) Should indicate what the threat is, what actions should be taken, by whom and when – This option indicates all the important information that a warming message should contain. It should not only be a warning, but also an informative message that tells people what to do and what not to do. Thus, this option is correct.
Option C) It should come from a single source – A warning message has to reach as many people as it can. Therefore, if the message is released from a single source it might not be able to reach the target audience. Hence, there should be multiple sources for warning messages, provided that they release the same and authentic message. Therefore, this option is also incorrect.
Option D) All of these – This option is wrong, as it has been established that option (B) is the correct answer.

Thus, the correct answer is Option (B) Should indicate what the threat is, what actions should be taken, by whom and when.

Note: Another safety measure similar to a flood warning, is a flood watch. A flood watch, just like a warning, tells the people to be prepared and cautious. But it is different from a warning because it is issued whenever the conditions are favourable for a flood to occur. A warning tells us that a flood is or will occur definitely and one should be prepared to face it or to evacuate. Whereas a watch just tells us that the conditions are suggesting that a flood might happen.