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- Returning Home After a Disaster
Returning Home After a Disaster
General
- Put on sturdy, hard-soled shoes and work gloves for protection.
- Use the phone only to report a life threatening emergency.
- Use a battery operated radio to get any emergency updates.
- Call your insurance agent.
- Keep records of all clean-up and repair costs.
- Don't throw away damaged goods until a complete inventory is made, and photos taken of your home and damaged goods.
- Notify disaster relief services if you need housing, food, etc.
- Secure personal belongings.
- If you are a tenant, notify the landlord.
- If you smell gas or hear a hissing sound - open a window and leave the building. Shut off the main gas valve outside.
- If there is electrical damage, switch off the power at the main control panel.
- Check for injured or trapped persons. Give first aid where appropriate. Do not move seriously injured persons unless they are in immediate danger of further injury.
- If water pipes are damaged, shut off the main water supply valve.
- Do not flush toilets until you know that sewage lines are intact.
- Clean up spilled medicines, bleaches and flammable liquids.
- Stay away from flood waters.
- Stay away from downed power lines.
- Wash your hands frequently with soap and clean water if you come in contact with flood waters.
- Clean and disinfect everything that got wet in the flood. The mud left behind by flood waters can contain sewage and chemicals.
- Throw out food, cosmetics and medicines that have come into contact with flooded waters.
- If your basement is flooded, pump it out gradually (about 1/3 of the water per day) to avoid damage. The walls may collapse and the floor may buckle if the basement is pumped out while the surrounding ground is still waterlogged.
- Stay out of burned structures.
- Ask the fire department for assistance in retrieving important documents.
- Be prepared for after shocks.
- Be careful when entering a damaged building. If you have any doubts about the integrity of the building, have the structure inspected by a professional before entering.
- Open cabinets cautiously. Beware of objects that can fall off shelves.