Carl Brahe
Your home or business is flooded and now you must act as quickly as possible to salvage what you can and minimize the ongoing destruction that comes from water saturation. It’s important to move quickly, but it’s more important to protect yourself while you assess the damage. There are many dangers that you might encounter when returning to your flooded property. The CDC lists dangers such as: infectious and diarrheal diseases – flood water can contain some really nasty stuff, protect yourself; fuels, solvents and other industrial chemicals can be released into flood water – are these chemicals used in or near your home or business; drowning or being wounded by submerged objects are hazards in a flooded basement as well as in moving or standing water; animals and other creatures are more shook up than you and may bite or sting – approach puddles and protected places carefully; electrical hazards – watch for downed power lines or underground electrical service exposed by erosion, do not enter a flooded building if the electrical power is turned on; do not enter a building that has obvious structural damage.
If possible leave the clean-up to the professionals. Cleaning a flooded building exposes you to all the danger up close. The consequences of not protecting yourself can be severe. People who do their own clean-up need to be prepared and properly protected. The CDC provides specific information (links below) to, “clean up safely after a natural disaster.”
· Carbon Monoxide Exposure
· Chain Saw Injury
· Chemical Hazards
· Cleaning & Sanitizing with Bleach
· Electrical Hazards
· Environmental Concerns
· Flood Recovery
· Food & Water Safety
· Hand Hygiene
· Heat Exposure
· HVAC Systems
· Mold
· Pressure Washer Injury
· Pressure Washers Safety
· Reentering Your Flooded Home
·
The Red Cross offers a guide for, “Repairing Your Flooded Home”, that gives nine steps for dealing with a flooded home and a guide for remediation in schools and commercial buildings. Colorado State University Extension offers a guide to, “Cleanup After Flood.”
Your first visit should be to document and make a plan.Don’t rush into it even though time is of the essence. When emotions are high judgment can suffer. Walk the perimeter of the property first taking pictures and/or video to document what you find. Look for erosion that has left retaining walls unstable or exposed utilities like underground electrical service or gas, sewer, or fresh water supply lines. If electrical lines are exposed call an electrician or power company. Underground electrical service is required, in most cases to be supplied by continuous, unspliced cable contained in weather proof conduit, but use extra caution when dealing with gas and electric supplies. If underground gas lines are exposed call your gas company. These are situations that are potentially deadly. Get professional help before entering the building.
If the electrical shut-off, usually in the breaker box, is accessible without standing in water, and there is no observable damage, test with an electricity detector form your local hardware store for under $20. Before touching anything electrical sue the detector to check for current. The alternative is to touch the outside of the box with the back of your hand. If damage to the box has left it live, you will receive a nasty shock but your hand won’t reflexively grab onto the box decreasing your chance of survival. If all is well open the cover of the breaker box and turn off the main shut-off, usually the top two breakers that are set apart from the others and are larger. If you have no main shut-off, the meter must be pulled to stop the electricity from flowing inside the structure. Doing this yourself is illegal in most places and can be dangerous. Call the power company or a licensed electrician.
Shut off the gas. The main shut-off for the gas at the meter. This valve requires a tool such as pliers or adjustable wrench. Photo shows “ON” position. Turn the shut-off counter-clockwise until the padlock eyes align. This is the "OFF" position