Know where there’s persistent flooding in Raleigh? The city wants to hear from you.

Whenever it starts to rain, Heather Eberhardt worries about her chickens.

If a storm gets bad enough, she and her husband Edgar Vardanian will rush home to check on the pair’s dozen chickens, pigs, goat and the beehive that all call their backyard home. The rain itself isn’t the problem. It’s when the banks of Marsh Creek overflow and creep higher and higher into the animal pens.

The creek sits behind their home, and the couple has spent tens of thousands of dollars raising their pet pens and building contraptions to make sure the pets can get to safety.

Before the modifications, Eberhardt said she’s had to rush out in waist-deep water to move two stubborn chickens who couldn’t find their way to the roof.

Eberhardt and Vardanian own a few homes in the Brentwood area and don’t want to leave the neighborhood they’ve spent more than a decade in. That is, until it rains.

“Every time it floods, I am ready to go,” Vardanian said, throwing his hands in the air.

That’s exactly what his former neighbor, Vickie Riggsbee, did through a Raleigh program that uses federal funds to demolish homes in areas prone to flooding. She lived two houses down from the couple on Long Bow Drive and she saw her home flood a number of times from the rising creek waters.

Everyone has a Hurricane Fran story, she said, referencing the 1996 hurricane that killed 24 people in North Carolina and caused more than $7 billion in damage. Riggsbee’s story was about swimming out of her house with her small dog and sleeping in her car parked a few streets over.

But it was 2016’s Hurricane Matthew and purchasing her fourth furnace and air conditioner that made Riggsbee accept the offer to move.

Raleigh is hosting two events this week to let people know their property’s flooding risk, what not to do during a flood and what programs or projects can help reduce flooding on their property.

The first event is 6 p.m. Tuesday at the Walnut Creek Wetland Center,at 950 Peterson St. WRAL Meteorologist Greg Fishel will give the opening remarks during the event.

The second session is 6 p.m. Wednesday at the Lake Lynn Community Center, at 7921 Ray Road. Representatives from the city’s police and fire departments will speak at both sessions to give people information about how to prepare for hurricanes, how to drive carefully in the rain and other safety tips.

A representative from the North Carolina Floodplain Mapping program will also be at the events to help people identify the locations near their homes that could flood.

“The focus is on education of our citizens on flooding-related issues and public safety issues,” said Wayne Miles, stormwater program manager. “And what they can do to prepare for large events like hurricanes which can cause flooding and power outages.”

Raleigh residents are also asked to fill out an online survey about flooding in the city. The survey can be found at https://publicinput.com/raleighflooding.

The city knows that businesses and homes along Walnut and Crabtree creeks see a bulk of the city’s flooding, thanks, in part, to previous development practices that weren’t as restrictive as they are now, Miles said.

“The best we can do is manage the flooding and make improvements when possible,” he said.

The stormwater fee that property owners pay is based on the amount of impervious surface, so there’s an incentive for developers and builders to think creatively. Raleigh also has new “green” building guidelines that encourage builders to use a variety of techniques such as rain gardens or green roofs.

City programs that can help residents include the Raleigh Rainwater Rewards initiative that gives people money to capture and recycle stormwater that comes on a person’s property.

The city also keeps track of where water often spills into roadways. These are the worst perpetrators:

• Crabtree Creek at Creedmoor Road
• Crabtree Creek at Lassiter Mill Road
• Crabtree Creek at Anderson Drrive
• Crabtree Creek at Wake Forest Road
• Crabtree Creek at Atlantic Avenue and Hodges Street
• Walnut Creek at Avent Ferry Road
• Walnut Creek at Gorman Street
• Walnut Creek at Lake Wheeler Road
• Walnut Creek at South State Street
• Walnut Creek at Rose Lane
• Walnut Creek at Sunnybrook Road

Anna Johnson; 919-829-4807; @anna_m_johnson

Want to go?

What: Raleigh Flood Risk and Safety meetings

Details: 6 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 28, at Walnut Creek Wetland Center, 950 Peterson St., or 6 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 29, at Lake Lynn Community Center, 7921 Ray Road.

Raleigh residents are also asked to fill out an online survey about flooding in the city. The survey can be found online at https://publicinput.com/raleighflooding

This story was originally published August 28, 2018 at 1:12 PM.