Flood alert

Okay kiddo, so imagine you're playing in the backyard and it starts to rain really, really hard. The rain quickly fills up the little ditch in your yard and soon your shoes and socks are completely soaked.

But do you know what happens when it rains even harder and for a longer time? Sometimes the water from the rain can't soak into the ground anymore, and it starts to fill up the streets and the sidewalks.

When this happens, it's called flooding. Floods happen when a lot of water is in one place where it normally doesn't belong.

Now, imagine you live near a river or a big lake. Sometimes, when it rains a lot for a few days, the water from the rain flows into the river or lake so much that it gets too full. This makes the water come up higher and higher, even until it might spill over onto the land.

When this happens, the people who live near the river or lake need to know so they can plan to stay safe. They get warned about the rising water levels by what's called a flood alert.

A flood alert is like a warning for the people living close to the river or lake. It tells them to be ready in case the water starts flooding onto the land. So if you see a flood alert, you should listen carefully to what it says and make sure to keep yourself and your family safe by moving to higher ground, if necessary.