After a Flood and Hurricane Safety Tips: Beware of Water

Damage to your home can have a significant impact on you, your family, and friends. It’s best to have a plan for how to re-enter your home safely before a hurricane, tornado, flood or other storm strikes. Having a plan and being aware of certain risks will minimize potential harm as the greatest threat to personal safety exists during a storm and in the immediate aftermath.

• Stay up-to-date with weather conditions, damage updates, and announcements from local authorities concerning the affected area, medical aid, and other forms of assistance, such as food, water, and shelter. Check out Alerting Options and Staying Informed for more information.
• If you evacuated, don’t return to the area until authorities say it is safe. Communicate with family and friends about your travel plans and alert them upon arrival. Expect and prepare for disruptions to daily activities.
• You may not have immediate access to your home. Emergency rescue crews, power crews, and others may be addressing damage and disruptions from the storm. Avoid driving as roads may be blocked, power lines could be down, and people may be trapped and in need of assistance.
• Carry current identification. You may have to pass through checkpoints before getting access to your home or neighborhood.
• Never walk or drive on flooded roads or through flood waters. Flooded areas may contain dangerous debris and be electrically charged. Don’t allow children near high water, storm drains, or ditches. Check out Turn Around Don’t Drown!® for more information.
• Avoid sight-seeing or entering a storm-ravaged area unnecessarily. You could be mistaken for a looter.
• Avoid downed or unstable trees, poles, and power lines that may be live with electricity. Stay away from metal objects near downed lines, and immediately report them to your power or utility company.
• Don’t use matches until all gas lines are checked for leaks. In the case of a power outage, keep flashlights and batteries in your disaster kit.
• Avoid injury from debris, contaminated water, carbon monoxide poisoning, and electrocution. Use caution inside damaged buildings and infrastructure. Seek professional inspection of structures that have been flooded before entering.
• Follow health and safety guidelines during recovery by knowing where to access medical aid, how to maintain health, and how to identify safety issues after a disaster.
• Administer first aid and seek medical attention for injured people. Don’t move them unless they are in immediate danger of death or further injury. If injured people aren’t breathing or don’t have a pulse, carefully position them for cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). Clear their airway and begin chest compressions and mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. Maintain their body temperature with blankets, but ensure they don’t become overheated. Never give liquids to an unconscious person.
• Maintain your health, and be aware of exhaustion. Don’t try to do too much at once. Set priorities, pace yourself, and take breaks. Drink plenty of water, and eat well. Wear sturdy work boots and gloves when removing debris, and wash your hands frequently with soap and water.
• Tell local authorities about any health and safety issues, including chemical spills, deceased animals, downed power lines, smoldering insulation, and washed-out roads.

More Resources

FEMA Ready. Health & Safety Guidelines. https://www.ready.gov/health-safety-guidelines