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Evacuation To prevent loss of life from flooding, a community must plan evacuation and rescue operations, Local officials need to determine evacuation procedures and should select an appropriate destination for each area to be evacuated, The evacuation procedures should I )identify the best available evacuation routes, 2)establish evacuation priority areas on the basis of the warning time available, and 3) identify those individuals responsible for conducting the evacuation activities, Post-Flood Re-Entry The objective of the re-enter step is to initiate and carry out post-flood actions that will maintain public health, return community services to normal at the earliest possible time, and provide aid and assistance in the re-entry process. Procedures for mobilizing volunteer organizations such as the Red Cross and the Salvation Army and activating mutual aid programs should also be identified in the EAP, 5, Integrated Local Flood Warning and Response System The integrated local flood warning and response system combines the local flood warning system with the community response system, Figure 2 illustrates the seven-step process of the integrated system, These seven steps are applicable to the simplest manual system or the most sophisticated automated system, The critical links between a local flood warning system and a community response system are community awareness and interest, a high degree of system maintenance, trained individuals to carry out planned actions, and a master Emergency Action Plan to follow. The community leaders need to designate a safety officer, such as the county sheriffs deputy, the director of emergency management, or a trained local volunteer to be the official responsible for overseeing and maintaining the local flood warning system and the community response system, This safety officer should be responsible for ensuring that all residents of structures located in the floodplain are aware of the flood hazard, the existence of the local flood warning system and the community response system, and the actions that should be taken in response to flood watch and warning notifications, 6. National Weather Service Procedures The National Weather Service (NWS), Hydrologic Service program has two basic goals: 1) to warn the public about weather and floods in order to save lives and property; and 2) to report on the Nation's rivers in order to support water resources, management for the benefit of all sectors of the economy. These goals are in accordance with the Congressional Organic Act of 1890, which designates the NWS as responsible for ",..the forecasting of weather and flood signals for the benefit of agriculture, commerce, and navigation, the gaging and reporting of rivers..,", To meet the first goal, the NWS has established a flood forecast and warning service, This service consists of Weather Service Forecast offices, which collect hydrologic data and relay it to 14