Floods: Tips for Preparing for a Flood, Evacuating, Cleaning up

#CaFlood
Monitor the radio or television for weather updates. Prepare to evacuate to a shelter or to a neighbor’s home if your home is damaged, or if you are instructed to do so by emergency personnel. Gather your emergency supply kit and stay tuned to local radio or TV stations for updates.

Tips for Preparing for a Flood

• Contact your local county geologist or county planning department to find out if your home is located in a flash-flood-prone area or landslide-prone area.
• Learn about your community’s emergency plans, warning signals, evacuation routes and locations of emergency shelters.
• Plan and practice a flood evacuation route with your family.  Ask an out-of-state relative or friend to be the “family contact” in case your family is separated during a flood.  Make sure everyone in your family has their contact information.
• Post emergency phone numbers at every phone.
• Inform local authorities about any special needs, i.e., elderly or bedridden people or anyone with a disability.
• Identify potential home hazards and know how to secure or protect them before the flood strikes.  Be prepared to turn off electrical power when there is standing water, fallen power lines or before you evacuate.  Turn off gas and water supplies before you evacuate.  Secure structurally unstable building materials.
• Buy a fire extinguisher and make sure your family knows where it is and how to use it.
• Buy and install sump pumps with back-up power.
• Have a licensed electrician raise electric components (switches, sockets, circuit breakers and wiring) at least 12 inches above your home’s projected flood elevation.
• For drains, toilets and other sewer connections, install backflow valves or plugs to prevent floodwaters from entering.
• Anchor fuel tanks which can contaminate your basement if torn free.  An unanchored tank outside can be swept downstream and damage other houses.

During a Flood Watch or Warning

• Turn off all utilities at the main power switch and close the main gas valve if evacuation appears necessary.
• Have your immunization records handy or be aware of your last tetanus shot, in case you receive a puncture wound or a wound becomes contaminated during the flood.
• Fill bathtubs, sink and plastic soda bottles with clean water.  Sanitize the sinks and tubs first by using bleach.  Rinse and fill with clean water.
• Bring outdoor possessions, such as lawn furniture, grills and trash cans inside or tie them down securely.
• Fill your vehicle’s gas tank and make sure the emergency kit for your car is ready.
• If no vehicle is available, make arrangements with friends or family for transportation.
• Listen for disaster sirens and warning signals.
• Put livestock and family pets in a safe area.  Due to food and sanitation requirements, emergency shelters cannot accept animals.
• Adjust the thermostat on refrigerators and freezers to the coolest possible temperature.

If You Are Ordered to Evacuate

You should never ignore an evacuation order.  Authorities will direct you to leave if you are in a low-lying area, or within the greatest potential path of the rising waters.  If a flood warning is issued for your area or you are directed by authorities to evacuate the area:

• Take only essential items with you.
• If you have time, turn off the gas, electricity and water.
• Disconnect appliances to prevent electrical shock when power is restored.
• Follow the designated evacuation routes and expect heavy traffic.
• Do not attempt to drive or walk across creeks or flooded roads.

If You Are Ordered NOT to Evacuate

Flood Recovery - How to Avoid Illness

Always wash your hands with soap and water that has been boiled or disinfected before preparing or eating food, after toilet use, after participating in flood cleanup activities and after handling articles contaminated with flood water or sewage.  If you receive a puncture wound contaminated with feces, soil or saliva, ask a doctor or health department whether a tetanus booster is necessary.

How to Make Sure Your Food is Safe

Do not eat any food that may have come into contact with flood water.  For infants, use only pre-prepared canned baby formula that requires no added water, rather than powdered formulas prepared with treated water.  Thawed food can usually be eaten or refrozen if it is still “refrigerator cold,” or if it still contains ice crystals.  To be safe, remember, “when in doubt, throw it out.”  Discard any refrigerated or frozen food that has been at room temperature for two hours or more and any food that has an unusual odor, color or texture.

How to Make Sure Your Water is Safe

Listen for public announcements on the safety of the municipal water supply.  Flooded, private water wells will need to be tested and disinfected after flood waters recede.  Questions about testing should be directed to your local health department.

Safe water for drinking, cooking and personal hygiene includes bottled, boiled or treated water.  Your local health department can make specific recommendations for boiling or treating water in your area.  Remember these general rules concerning water for drinking, cooking and personal hygiene.

• Do not use contaminated water to wash dishes, brush your teeth, wash and prepare food, wash your hands, make ice or make baby formula. You can use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer to wash your hands.
• If you use bottled water, be sure it came from a safe source. If you do not know that the water came from a safe source, you should boil or treat it before you use it. Use only bottled, boiled or treated water until your supply is tested and found safe.
• Boiling water, when practical, is the preferred way to kill harmful bacteria and parasites. Bringing water to a rolling boil for one minute will kill most organisms.
• When boiling water is not practical, you can treat water with chlorine tablets, iodine tablets or unscented household chlorine bleach (5.25 percent sodium hypochlorite).
• If you use chlorine tablets or iodine tablets, follow the directions that come with the tablets.
• If you use household chlorine bleach, add 1/8 teaspoon (~0.75 mL) of bleach per gallon of water if the water is clear. For cloudy water, add ¼ teaspoon (~1.50 mL) of bleach per gallon. Mix the solution thoroughly and let it stand for about 30 minutes before using it.

Note: Treating water with chlorine tablets, iodine tablets or liquid bleach will not kill parasitic organisms.

 Use a bleach solution to rinse water containers before reusing them.  Use water storage tanks and other types of containers with caution.  For example, fire truck storage tanks and previously used cans or bottles may be contaminated with microbes or chemicals. 

How to Handle Animals and Mosquitoes

Many wild animals may be forced from their natural habitats by flooding, and many domestic animals may also be without homes after a flood.  Take care to avoid these animals.  Do not corner an animal.  If an animal must be removed, contact your local animal control authorities.  If you are bitten by any animal, seek immediate medical attention.  If you are bitten by a snake, first try to accurately identify the type of snake so that, if poisonous, the correct anti-venom may be administered.

Contact your local or state health and agricultural officials for state guidelines on disposal of dead animals.  Protect yourself from mosquitoes: use screens on dwellings, wear long-sleeved and long-legged clothing, and use insect repellents that contain DEET or Picaridin. 

How to Deal With Chemical Hazards

Be aware of potential chemical hazards you may encounter during flood recovery.  Flood waters may have buried or moved hazardous chemical containers of solvents or other industrial chemicals from their normal storage places.  If any propane tanks (whether 20-lb. tanks from a gas grill or household propane tanks) are discovered, do not attempt to move them yourself.  These represent a very real danger of fire or explosion, and if any are found, police or fire departments or your State Fire Marshal’s office should be contacted immediately.  Car batteries, even those in flood water, may still contain an electrical charge and should be removed with extreme caution by using insulated gloves.  Avoid coming in contact with any acid that may have spilled from a damaged car battery.

How to Deal with Electric and Gas Utilities

Electrical power and natural gas or propane tanks should be shut off to avoid fire, electrocution or explosions until it is safe to use them.  Use battery-powered flashlights and lanterns, rather than candles, gas lanterns or torches.  If you smell gas or suspect a leak, turn off the main gas valve, open all windows and leave the house immediately.  Notify the gas company or the police or fire departments or State Fire Marshal’s office, and do not turn on the lights or do anything that could cause a spark.  Avoid any downed power lines, particularly those in water.  All electrical equipment and appliances must be completely dry before using them.  You should have a certified electrician check these items if there is any question.  Also, remember not to operate any gas-powered equipment indoors.

How to Clean Up

Walls, hard-surfaced floors and many other household surfaces should be cleaned with soap and water and disinfected with a solution of 1 cup of bleach to five gallons of water.  Wash all linens and clothing in hot water, or dry clean them.  For items that cannot be washed or dry cleaned, such as mattresses and upholstered furniture, air dry them in the sun and then spray them thoroughly with a disinfectant.  Steam clean all carpeting.  If there has been a backflow of sewage into the house, wear rubber boots and waterproof gloves during cleanup.  Remove and discard contaminated household materials that cannot be disinfected, such as wall coverings, cloth, rugs and drywall.

 Information adapted from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Spource info: http://bepreparedcalifornia.ca.gov/EPO/BeInformed/NaturalDisasters/Floods.htm