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Cleaning
Up after a Flood
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The
Return: Again, do not enter until
the authorities have given the go-ahead. You may
be instantly charged if you do not comply with their precautions.
Remember, they are trying to help by checking structures for
integrity and other hazards such as possible gas leaks. Also check
to see how the authorities want you to return to the site. They may
limit the number of people you take in, have check in/out
points, or other rules in place.
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Tetanus: Make sure you have a
current tetanus vaccination. Although the CDC has stated on their
website that it is now not required to work in a flood disaster
area, they do mention that it is beneficial in case an accident does
occur. Tetanus should be boosted every 10 years. You should have a
good idea if you have this beforehand. In Cedar Rapids, tetanus
vaccinations were offered to those who had need. However, with the
new information on government websites like the CDC, these programs
may not happen at future floods. Therefore, know if you have one so
if you do get injured treatment can be simplified.
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Gear:
Protect yourself with goggles, masks,
watertight boots, shoes with thick soles, thick rubber gloves, and a
hard hat if necessary. Depending on equipment used you may also need
earplugs. Bring in a first aid kit and bug repellent. Wear long
sleeves and pants. Remember that water may possibly have dead fish,
sewage and chemical residue. It is not pleasant and the less it
touches your skin the better!
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 Water:
Bring in a lot of clean water for
while you work. Some agencies may offer water, however, due to need
it may not be enough. When working at the office we were not able to
get more then one 8oz bottle per person and this only if they came
in person. If working with a crew or team, bring in your own. Also
bring in jugs of water for washing hands as well as sanitation wipes
and/or gel cleaners. The cleaner you can get your hands at breaks
the better. Also, keep fire extinguishers at the recovery site as
there will not be running water if a fire does break out.
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Lighting: Bring a lot of
flashlights. Only go during the day when you have the daylight to
assist you in recovery. However, even with sunlight, without
electricity there will be many rooms and areas that will need the
extra lighting. Do not use matches or smoke when working in the
structure. If you use a generator, make certain it is outside and
only run according to manufacture directions.
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Camera: Remember your camera or
video recorder and make certain to document the losses before
removing items. You will need this for your records when working
with your insurance company and relief agencies.
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Work
Safely: Do not overdo the work.
Take breaks often. You will be in an environment with poor lighting,
terrible air quality and slick obstacles at every turn. Keeping your
energy up and your body healthy should be the first priority. Wash
your hands. Drink clean water. Get healthy snacks. Get outside and
try to get fresh air. Keep in mind that in an area hard hit, even
the outdoors will be filled with repugnant odors. You may need to
leave the site to get some fresh air! Really keep an eye on
your breathing and body’s reaction to the environment. At our office
it took only a day for black mold to begin to grow along the walls
after the water receded – it is nasty to look at and terrible on
your health – be safe!
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Keep
Organized: It is overwhelming all
the items that have to be discarded from the flooring to pictures on
the wall. Try not to get overwhelmed and organize items for disposal
and recovery. Put all lost building and general waste in one area,
all computers, chemicals and other special items in another area and
finally anything deemed possibly salvageable in another location.
Check with local authorities for any special preferences as they may
set up a process for waste disposal.
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Drying: Open all windows and
doors possible. If you are working with a generator, you may bring
in fans and dehumidifiers to get out moisture. The fans should be at
windows pointing outside, this way they will be taking moist air out
of the structure and not kicking up mold inside. Use caution when using
anything electrical with the generator. Keep extension cords up from
the water and removed from the work path to avoid tripping.
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Don't
bring along any children or pets!
Battling Mold after a Flood
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According
to the CDC, anything that has been wet for two days has mold whether
you can see it or not. Get these items out to dry as quickly as
possible.
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If it
cannot be washed in hot water it will need to go.
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Wear a
mask, rubber gloves and long sleeves and pants. Limit direct skin
contact with damaged items.
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Hard
surfaces that do not adsorb water can be cleaned using a mixture of
bleach and water. Ratio suggested by the CDC as 1 cup of bleach
to every gallon of water.
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Make sure
doors and windows are open when cleaning with bleach. When possible
try to do some recovery outside.
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Once
washed leave items out to dry – the sun can be your friend if it is
out. Especially if working with paper documents this can help
destroy some of the mold. We were able to salvage many documents by
pealing them apart when wet and laying them in the sun to dry. Not
perfect, but important information can then be retrieved. However,
for businesses, most documents can be salvaged by professional
cleaners. Only immediate documents or household documents could be
pealed apart as it is a daunting and time consuming task!
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More Information
FEMA and the American Red
Cross have made a pamphlet entitled Repairing Your Flooded Home
which is available as a PDF. A great resource, page 55 has a very
useful emergency contact list as well.
Some Ways to Help Our
Neighbors
Downtown Cedar Rapids, Iowa on Sunday, June 15, 2008
after the waters have started to recede.
Aidmatrix Network - Iowa
www.aidmatrixnetwork.org/CashDonations/
Default2.aspx?ST=Iowa
The Safeguard Iowa Partnership and the Iowa Disaster Human Resource
Council have partnered to provide the Aidmatrix Network, an easy way
to make monetary and product donations to the nonprofit
organizations that are assisting in the response and recovery
efforts following recent disaster events in Iowa.
Cedar Rapids Czech & Slovak Museum
www.ncsml.org
The National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library staff and board
continue to work through the challenges of flood recovery. Our five
museum buildings are cleaned out and secure. Visitors from across
the country have been calling to plan summer visits. Some have
already made their way here and are shocked and dismayed to find a
sight they never expected - boarded up buildings, sandbars in the
garden, and piles of debris. We are assuring them we will survive
and be back in business, but it will take time. To us it's
surprising there's still a world out there that doesn't know about
the flood!
Cedar Rapids Public Library
Our public library lost all of the first floor which included
books and magazines for adults. The children's book section
was mostly recovered. They are currently looking for temporary
space:
"07 July 2008 - Librarians are compiling a list of books and other
materials that the CRPL’s book distributor will hold until the
library has a place to put them. The books will arrive
pre-processed, which means that staff will be able to shelve them
immediately, saving an enormous amount of time.
Once the list is compiled, individuals will have an opportunity to
select a book from the list to donate. “Many of our patrons and
supporters have been asking what they can do. This will be a way to
help rebuild our library,” says Glise. “By fall, we hope to have a
wish list available.”
For future information on donating books or cash please visit:
http://crlibrary.org/index.php/foundation
Corridor Recovery
www.corridorrecovery.org
Corridor Recovery is a not-for-profit partnership between
government, civic, business and faith-based organizations, created
to respond to the Flood of 2008. As the flood waters peaked,
Corridor Recovery quickly became the primary resource for materials
and information for Linn County and Cedar Rapids. We provide
resources for local governments and agencies to distribute
flood-recovery information to the public in a critical time of need,
and to coordinate volunteer efforts in the clean-up and recovery
process.
Greater Cedar Rapids Community
Foundation
www.gcrcf.org
The Greater Cedar Rapids Community Foundation opened the Flood
2008 Fund on June 15. The Flood 2008 Fund is for flood relief and
recovery donations. One-hundred percent of financial donations to
the fund will support response, recovery and rebuilding efforts
throughout the Cedar Rapids-metro and surrounding communities. The
first priority will be to work with local nonprofit organizations to
support individuals and families affected by the floods. The GCRCF
is committed to helping individuals, families and the nonprofit
community recover and rebuild from the catastrophic flood.
Embrace Iowa 2008 Disaster Fund
www.desmoinesfoundation.org
Embrace Iowa is a program of statewide outreach by the Des
Moines Register. Since it already has an established logo,
identity, and donation tracking mechanism, the Iowa Disaster
Collaborative is using the Embrace Iowa website as one way for
donors to make a donation and learn more about the 2008 Iowa
Disaster Fund.
Iowa Commission on Volunteer
Service
http://volunteer.united-e-way.org/icovs/volunteer/
If you are interested in helping in a particular area of the state,
please use this section of our Web site to get in touch with local
officials, who are collecting a list of where and when volunteers
are most needed.
University of Iowa Foundation
www.uifoundation.org
For those wishing to support the University as it struggles to
recover from flood-related damage not covered by insurance or other
resources, we encourage contributions to the UI Flood Relief Fund.
Sources for this
article which include even more detailed information:
Center for Disease Control
CDC.gov (www.cdc.gov)
is your online source for credible health information and is the
official Web site of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC). CDC is committed to achieving true improvements in people’s
health. CDC applies research and findings to improve people’s daily
lives and responds to health emergencies—something that distinguishes
CDC from its peer agencies. Working with states and other partners, CDC
provides a system of health surveillance to monitor and prevent disease
outbreaks (including bioterrorism), implement disease prevention
strategies, and maintain national health statistics. CDC also guards
against international disease transmission, with personnel stationed in
more than 25 foreign countries
FEMA – Federal Emergency Management
Agency
www.fema.gov
FEMA has more than 2,600 full time employees. They work at FEMA
headquarters in Washington D.C., at regional and area offices across the
country, the Mount Weather Emergency Operations Center, and the National
Emergency Training Center in Emmitsburg, Maryland. FEMA also has nearly
4,000 standby disaster assistance employees who are available for
deployment after disasters. Often FEMA works in partnership with other
organizations that are part of the nation's emergency management system.
These partners include state and local emergency management agencies, 27
federal agencies and the American Red Cross.
National Flood Insurance Program
www.floodsmart.gov
Congress established the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) to
address both the need for flood insurance and the need to lessen the
devastating consequences of flooding. The goals of the program are
twofold: to protect communities from potential flood damage through
floodplain management, and to provide people with flood insurance.
SBA – Small Business Administration
www.sba.gov
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) was created in 1953 as an
independent agency of the federal government to aid, counsel, assist and
protect the interests of small business concerns, to preserve free
competitive enterprise and to maintain and strengthen the overall
economy of our nation. We recognize that small business is critical to
our economic recovery and strength, to building America's future, and to
helping the United States compete in today's global marketplace.
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