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Planning is only part of the flood fight process. The proper response method must be selected from the options presented in the plan. The selection of the correct response option involves a decision-making process that is critical to the success of the community response effort. Notes Every flood threat has different characteristics. Each element of that threat must be compared and weighed against the available response options. This may not be a one-time process. As variables change in the threat equation, different options may emerge or be discarded. The decision-making process must be adaptable and flexible enough to continually evaluate the threat and available options. This is to be sure that the current course of action remains the most desirable. The decision-making process must evaluate many factors and provide the best possible counters to the flood threat. Each factor is important and it is difficult to give one element more credence than another. The match of elements must be considered when choosing a final response option. The first step in the decision-making process is to realistically evaluate the forecast flood threat. But hard and clear answers may be rare in this step of the process. For example, a stalled weather system can make weather forecasting extremely difficult. Under such conditions, flood forecasts may frequently change. Obvious- ly, changes in the expected flood crest can have dramatic implica- tions on the flood fight. Key questions to ask when evaluating the flood threat include: --.--------'1----wnen IS the fiver expected to crest and at what elg t. -.j What will be the duration of high water levels? -.j Will there be one or multiple flood crests? -.j Are other factors present that could change the forecast, Le. weakened dams upstream or threat of upstream levee failures? -.j Are other threats present that could complicate the flood fight Le., high winds, ice flows, snow or rain, high or low temper.atures? Page5-3