If you've been evacuated and are contemplating breaching the orders to return to your home to gather supplies, I want you to ask yourself something:
Is this item more important that three lives?
By re-entering an evacuation zone, you become a draw on existing evacuation resources. Emergency services are working to triage all situations; once a zone is clear, they can shift their focus on another area. By returning prematurely to your home, you not only compromise your own safety, you
will put emergency services personnel at risk. You
will put another person's life at risk, since emergency personnel must focus on you rather than someone else.
That's three lives at risk: yours, the emergency personnel, and the person they couldn't help because of you.
I can empathize with you; I can imagine all the justifications I would give myself to go back, and all the steps I would take to ensure my own safety. A flood, however, is unpredictable. You have no idea what is upstream; a bridge, a tree, a house about to come loose from its foundation...all of these will put you in danger.
Don't do it...or if you do, make sure you have a will. Include a bequest to the local emergency services.
Once the waters have receded and you have explicit permission to return to your home, there are some important precautions to take. Keep these in mind as you plan your return home:
Before you even go inside:
- Do not return home until authorities have advised that it is safe to do so.
- If the main power switch was not turned off prior to flooding, do not re-enter your home until a qualified electrician has determined it is safe to do so.
- Make sure the building is structurally safe.
- Look for buckled walls or floors.
- Watch for holes in the floor, broken glass and other potentially dangerous debris
Re-entering your home
- Maintain good hygiene during flood cleanup. Minimize contact with floodwater or anything that may have been in contact with it. Keep children away from contaminated areas during cleanup operations.
- Appliances that may have been flooded pose a risk of shock or fire when turned on. Do not use any appliances, heating, pressure, or sewage system until electrical components have been thoroughly cleaned, dried, and inspected by a qualified electrician.
- The main electrical panel must be cleaned, dried, and tested by a qualified electrician to ensure that it is safe.
- Depending on where you live, your municipal or the provincial inspection authority is responsible for the permitting process required before your electric utility can reconnect power to your home.
Water
- Flood water can be heavily contaminated with sewage and other pollutants. It can cause sickness and infections.
- If through colour, odour or taste you suspect that your drinking water has been contaminated, don't drink it.
- Household items that have been flood-damaged will have to be discarded according to local regulations
- Remove water from your flooded home slowly. Drain it in stages – about one third of the volume daily – because if the ground is still saturated and water is removed too quickly, the walls or the floor could buckle
- Use pumps or pails to remove standing water, then a wet/dry shop vacuum to mop up the rest.
- For instructions on how to disinfect and restore wells and cisterns, contact your local or provincial health authorities or emergency management organization.
Documentation
- Store all valuable papers that have been damaged in a freezer until they are needed
- Record details of flood damage by photograph or video, if possible.
Recommended flood cleanup equipment
- Gloves
- Masks and other protective gear
- Pails, mops and squeegees
- Plastic garbage bags
- Unscented detergent
- Large containers for soaking bedding, clothing and linens, and clotheslines to hang them to dry
- Depending on your situation, you may need to rent additional equipment such as extension cords, submersible pumps, wet/dry shop vacuums, a carbon monoxide sensor and dehumidifiers, fans or heaters.
- When using the equipment, keep extension cords out of the water.
Heating and appliances
- Do not heat your home to more than 4°C (about 40°F) until all of the water is removed.
- If you use pumps or heaters powered by gasoline, kerosene or propane, buy and install a carbon monoxide sensor. Combustion devices can produce large amounts of lethal carbon monoxide if they're not tuned-up or are improperly ventilated.
- Do not use flooded appliances, electrical outlets, switch boxes or fuse-breaker panels until they have been checked by your local utility.
- Whether you use a wood, gas or electrical heating system, have it thoroughly inspected by a qualified technician before using it again. Replace the furnace blower motor, switches and controls if they have been soaked.
- Flooded forced-air heating ducts and return-duct pans should be either cleaned or replaced.
- Replace filters and insulation inside furnaces, water heaters, refrigerators and freezers if they have been wet. However, it is often cheaper to replace this equipment.
Structures
- Ventilate or dehumidify the house until it is completely dry.
- Rinse and then clean all floors as quickly as possible.
- Replace flooring that has been deeply penetrated by flood water or sewage.
- Clean all interior wall and floor cavities with a solution of water and unscented detergent.
Food and medicine
- All undamaged canned goods must be thoroughly washed and disinfected.
- Dispose of all medicines, cosmetics and other toiletries that have been exposed to flood water.
- Dispose of any of the following food items if they have been exposed to flood water:
- Contents of freezer or refrigerator, including all meats and all fresh fruit and vegetables
- All boxed foods
- All bottled drinks and products in jars, including home preserves (since the area under the seal of jars and bottles cannot be properly disinfected)
- Cans with large dents or that reveal seepage
Before moving back in
Once the flood waters have receded, you must not live in your house until:
- The regular water supply has been inspected and officially declared safe for use.
- Every flood-contaminated room has been thoroughly cleaned, disinfected and surface-dried.
- All contaminated dishes and utensils have been thoroughly washed and disinfected – either by using boiling water or by using a sterilizing solution of one part chlorine bleach to four parts water. Rinse dishes and utensils thoroughly.
- Adequate toilet facilities are available. (For more information, consult your local health authority.)
Information taken from Gov't of Canada:
http://www.getprepared.gc.ca/cnt/hzd/flds-ftr-eng.aspx
