Cleanup after Hurricane Floods
September 21, 2011
Hurricanes are the biggest and continual type of natural disasters that have been consistently hitting the US. The coastline and the Midwest are always at risk; and from the recent hurricanes like Katrina, Irene etc; we have realized that floods are one of the most dangerous repercussions of a hurricane attack. After the attack subsides, it is the job to clean up and make the place habitable again. The cleanup has to be more than just superficial; here is how we can go about doing it:
1. Wait for the clearance given by the emergency officials. Once you get the green signal, you can go back to your home or office. You need to get mandatory permission from the authorities in the area because you start the cleanup. The permission is for your own good because if the area is still at risk, there is no point cleaning it up.
2. Put on protective gear like rubber boots, disposable face mask, long pants and long sleeved shirts, disposable face mask etc. You should keep your skin away from the contact of flood waters. Drink bottled water and remain hydrated, so that you are energetic as well.
3. Get an electrician to look for faulty power lines. Also some of the appliances may have developed short-circuit issues, so it is better to get them checked before you use them. Similarly, get your gas appliances checked because there may be leakage problems.
4. It is important to click pictures or take a video of the damages, which can be used as solid proof if you are claiming for insurance.
5. You u will find two types of items, ones that can be retained and the others that need to be disposed. For instance, carpets, floorboards, furniture, mattresses etc may have water damage, so the best thing is to get rid of them. Also, there are items like some clothing that may need to be correctly laundered. So, you can transport these items in plastic bags to laundries where they can be cleaned and disinfected. You can also clean the items with a disinfectant.
6. Due to the flood waters that may have accumulated in the home, the area may stink. So it is better to run a dehumidifier and open the windows. Keep large fans for smooth air flow. Make sure that the area is dried properly.
7. Once you have removed the items from the floor, walls, ceiling etc, you need to clean the hard surfaces like the tiles, walls, ceilings etc. You can use a bleach solution or disinfectant to clean the areas properly. With a water extractor, you can remove the water that has been pooled in low-lying areas and basements.
New Jersey Cleaning Up From Irene in Spite of New Flooding
September 1, 2011
Many New Jersey residents entered their third day without power Wednesday as utility crews work to restore electricity to a third of a million homes and businesses. Downed trees and flooding in Monmouth, Ocean, Bergen, Somerset and Milddlesex counties have been slowing restoration and cleanup efforts.
Flood levels rose in the city of Paterson yesterday while most areas have seen the water recede. There were many boat rescues occurring there Tuesday as many people did not heed evacuation orders or were too slow in getting out of their homes. In Passaic County, over 1,600 people were evacuated since the storm swept through the area with the main priority being to get senior citizens out of their homes. However, many roads and bridges have been closed due to damage which has made these efforts more difficult for the county’s Office of Emergency Management workers.
FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano will be visiting flood damaged Lincoln Park in Morris County late Wednesday afternoon, which is located in the northern part of New Jersey. The raging Passaic River hit its crest Tuesday, bringing new misery to towns such as Lodi and Paterson. The river crested at just over 14 feet, its 2nd highest level in history, which sent water gushing into dozens of communities and flooding scores of homes.
Many New Jersey residents are wondering how they can request and receive assistance from FEMA. The governor of New Jersey, Chris Christie must submit a disaster request to the agency along with an estimated cost of the damages. This is expected to take several days as engineers and crews need time to assess damages done to bridges, roads, dams and other structures. While waiting for the word from the feds, residents are being told to take photos or videos of any damages caused by Irene before starting to clean up their properties.
Governor Christie said Wednesday that the hurricane has caused tens of millions of dollars worth of damages to his state and that it will need help from the federal government. Thousands of people are still stuck living in temporary hosing after being forced from their flooded homes, including 3,000 more who had to flee their high rise apartments.
State officials are warning home and business owners in the state not to fall victim to unscrupulous people who are seeking to take advantage of them during their time of despair. Its best to find the services of a professional restoration contractor, who provides estimates in writing with a job scope.
Tropical Storm Irene on Path to Florida
August 22, 2011
If you live in Florida and have not yet prepared for the 2011 hurricane season, the time to act is now. Tropical storm Irene is now in the Lesser Antilles and it is on a path towards Florida. Once the system passes over Cuba, officials are concerned that it will gain power from the very warm waters and make landfall as a Category 1 hurricane. Irene could make it to Florida by Thursday night or Friday of this week which means that it is time to make an emergency kit and time to secure your property. Residents as far south as Miami, up the Treasure Coast (Fort Pierce, Port St Lucie) and into Georgia should be on high alert for the upcoming storm which is likely to carry wind gusts of 80+ miles per hour and localized heavy rain which could lead to flooding conditions.
Irene is showing every indication that it will become the year’s first hurricane. The National Hurricane Center expects Irene to reach hurricane strength today as it reaches the southern coasts of the Dominican Republic and Haiti. Officials in Florida are urging residents not to be complacent and to inspect their homes and businesses and to install storm windows. It is also important to keep yard free of debris as small items can become missiles in high winds. It is essential to cut down dead tree limbs and to remove weak or damaged trees. If you do not have shutters on your home, you can make some out of plywood and install then with anchors. Garage doors should be braced and families should devise emergency plans in case evacuations are ordered.
Tropical storms can pack winds of up to 73 miles an hour and the worst hurricanes can feature winds in excess of 150 miles per hour. This means that roofs should be inspected and repaired if necessary and those homes in low lying and flood-prone areas should be readied for the possibility of flooding. Many homeowners in Florida have not done all they could to prevent property damage caused by tropical storms and hurricanes which struck in the past and the consequences of being complacent can be devastating and even deadly. Now is definitely the time to be ready for tropical storms and hurricanes. Everyone living in Florida should be keeping a close eye on Irene. They also should become familiar with their community’s emergency plans.
Flooding Concerns for Central and Northeastern Ohio
August 15, 2011
Heavy downpours and flooding is on everyone’s mind in the central and northeastern portions of Ohio as it has been a wet couple of days. June and July were relatively dry months across Ohio but August is certainly shaping up to be a very wet month in this Midwestern state – and the month is only half over. Property owners from Cleveland through Akron have been on high alert and dealing with flooding problems for what seems like the entire summer of 2011.
The rainy trend is going to continue over the next few days and in fact, today and tomorrow look as though they may be downright soggy and miserable. The National Weather Services is warning people in many parts of the state that the rainfall coming during the next few days could be excessive which can very well trigger flash flooding. Several thousand residents in central Ohio have already been left without power after thunderstorms moved into the region.
The NWS issued area flood watches to Ottawa, Sandusky, Erie, Lorain, Huron and Medina counties which includes the cities of Port Clinton, Sandusky, Lorain, Fremont, Medina and Norwalk. The watch will remain in effect until at least Monday as periods of heavy rainfall are expected to dump up to two inches of rain on the region. The rainfall rates in thunderstorms coming off of Lake Erie will be at over one inch per hour which could cause rapid run-off, resulting in flash flooding. People living in those areas are being urged to keep themselves informed of changing weather conditions and to warnings of evacuating their homes and/or businesses early this week should flooding develop.
The mayor of Port Clinton, Ohio, which is located in Sandusky county, declared a flooding state of emergency for her city Sunday. Residents are being told to stay off the streets as up to seven inches of rain fell during a four hour period on Sunday, triggering widespread flooding. The Magruder hospital there was closed Sunday because the power had to be shut off due to water rushing into a room which held the hospital’s power distribution panels. Many streets in the city have also been flooded as have many basements. Port Clinton firefighters were asked to help many homeowners deal with their flooded basements as many residents have reported that they have lost everything they had in their basements.
Temperatures in central and northeastern Ohio have been relatively cool for this time of year. And with Lake Erie temperatures in the 70s, lake-enhanced thunderstorms are expected to dump heavy amounts of rain over the region during the next couple of days. Many areas could see more than one inch of rain on Monday alone as thunderstorms move into the region. Residents are being advised to keep an eye on weather reports and those living in low-lying areas are being urged to prepare their homes and businesses for the possibility of flooding.
Flooding, Hot Weather Making Life Miserable in Ohio
July 20, 2011
The morning temperatures in Ohio this week have been around 84 degrees and it feels like it is in the low 90s. Things are not shaping up to get any better as the daytime highs are expected to be in the upper 90s for the rest of the week. Combine the hot, sticky, humid weather with the widespread flooding that took place Monday night going into Tuesday and you have a recipe for misery.
Thousands of residents in northeast Ohio are without power and scores of home and business owners are trying to clean up after flood damage. The laborious, sweaty work would certainly be deserving of a cool Lake Erie swim but unfortunately a swim advisory has been put into effect for Lake Erie as bacteria counts are high. Heat and flood weary residents in several northeastern Ohio towns and cities who are without power are being told to head to local cooling centers or to go to air-conditioned shopping centers and malls to seek relief from the hot, humid temperatures.
In Akron, the official rainfall gauges registered 6.8 inches in a twenty-four hour period which is an amount that is likely to occur only once every 1,000 years, so says a spokesman for Ohio’s Dept. of Natural Resources. At the Akron-Canton airport, 4.7 inches of rain fell in just three hours’ time which as the most rain that fell in a day since the airport opened in 1948.
The main terminal’s basement at the airport quickly filled with flood water during the storm which forced officials to shut off the airport’s power. There were several commercial flights canceled due to the flooding problem.
The thunderstorms that brought high winds and massive down-pourings of rain moved slowly from Canada across Lake Erie and hit land just west of Cleveland early Tuesday morning. In Coventry Township, a 4-unit apartment building was evacuated and condemned when the foundation imploded from the weight of the flood water that inundated its basement. Upwards of four feet of water rushed into the building.
The sweltering, hot, hazy and humid weather will linger for several more days in Ohio and there is a chance for late day thunderstorms Friday and Saturday throughout the state which is not good news for residents living in flood-prone or low-lying areas. July was looking as though it was going to go down in the record books as a very dry month but things certainly have changed following the heavy rains that pounded the state early Tuesday.
High Flood Crests in Minot, North Dakota
June 27, 2011
At 11 am, local time Sunday in Minot, North Dakota, the Souris River tied the 1881 record after rising nearly a foot in the hour earlier. The river crested at just under 7 feet above major flood stage. A crest will be officially declared later during the day or evening on Sunday.
During the days leading up to the worst of the flooding, about 11,000 of Minot’s residents were evacuated from neighborhoods located close to the river. Only a few hundred of those residents used shelters which were set up at the city’s auditorium and at Minot State University. Others who were evacuated are expected to move in with family or friends and some will try to find hotel/motel accommodations in the area. Patrick Ayd, a meteorologist working for the National Weather Service said that the forecast shows a “very slow fall” of the river starting Sunday evening. The Souris River flows through the heart of Minot, a city of which 36,000 call home. Nearly one-third of the city’s residents were told to evacuate while at least 4,000 homes have been affected by flooding. That number could reach as high as 4,500 homes before all is said and done, officials are warning.
While the residents of Minot can begin to piece their lives back together, the worst is yet to come for other cities and towns in North Dakota. The small community of Sawyer, with a population of 350, has been completely evacuated over the weekend as water from the Souris began to creep into the town. A makeshift levee was constructed and is being reinforced in an attempt to protect homes and businesses in Sawyer. Residents are on pins and needles, waiting to see just how much water ends up flooding their quiet little community.
Officials in Minot issued a ‘boil water order’ on Saturday, telling people to boil tap water for at least 60 seconds before use so that any harmful organisms would be killed. The focus in Minot this weekend is on the Broadway Bridge which is a crucial north/south route through the city. Work has been going on around the clock to stop the river from flooding nearby roads. In the worst case scenario Minot would be split in half by flooding. Emergency services in the city would be adversely affected if that were to happen.
Chicago Suburbanites Battling Flooded Basements
June 10, 2011
The Chicago area has been under flash flood warnings since Thursday morning. The region also has experienced many power outages as a result of thunderstorms which have dumped several inches of rain on the area. At times, the pounding rain showed no mercy as sewers took in more water than they could handle. As a result, much of Chicago and its suburbs were overcome with water, forcing cars off the roads and pedestrians off sidewalks. Many drivers were forced to abandon their vehicles on flooded streets and roadways.
As more rain poured on the area (today) Friday, many residents in Chicago’s suburbs have been reporting water inside their homes, and especially those living in the southern suburbs. And, to make matters worse, a second round of storms is expected. Mother Nature is definitely unloading on the area and in some suburbs such as Oak Lawn, residents are dealing with a whole lot of heartache.
In Oak Lawn, a retention pond build ten years ago could not keep up with the deluge of water. Oak Lawn mayor Dave Heilmann said that it is the worst flooding there in several decades. Heilmann had to rescue his own wife out of the flood waters when her vehicle stalled out in water on an Oak Lawn street. Many homes in Oak Lawn are flooded with several feet of water which has sent residents packing so that they can stay with friends and relatives while their homes can be cleaned and dried.
Four inches of rain fell on Oak Lawn and the surrounding suburbs on Thursday. The heavy down-pouring sent Stony Creek gushing over its bank and a torrent of fast moving, muddy water rushing into village streets. The Oakdale subdivision has been turned into a lake with scores of homeowners there reporting several feet of water in their basements. Officials are urging residents to stay out of their flooded basements and to be sure that their homes’ utilities are turned off. They are also advising people to call their utility providers for assistance if they are unsure how to shut down the power to their homes.
While children are kayaking and tubing on suburban streets in the Chicagoland area, adults are checking their home insurance policies for flood coverage. Many are also contacting flood cleanup companies in the Chicago area of which most are reporting that their phones are ringing off the hooks.
Tornado Devastation in Joplin, MO is Hard to Comprehend
May 24, 2011
The giant category F4 tornado that cut a swath through Joplin, Missouri Sunday evening has left behind devastation that is hard to comprehend. It looks as though bombs were dropped as a large portion of the city of 50,000 is totally destroyed. The local hospital is torn to bits with its rescue helicopter is shredded and laying on its side. The top two floors of the hospital were ripped off and every window in the structure was blown out as the facility took a direct hit from the tornado.
Mike Bettes from the Weather Channel has seen his share of storm damage but he become highly emotional Sunday on camera after he arrived in Joplin to report on the damage. He said that the scene there was remarkable as he viewed the deceased lying in the streets. Bettes and the Great Tornado Hunt Crew arrived in the city within one hour of the storm. As soon as Bettes saw the total devastation he started his own personal search for survivors. He also quickly called officials in neighboring cities personally to ask that their police, fire departments and medical personnel come to Joplin immediately to help.
The Weather Channel has reported that 3/4 of Joplin has been destroyed by the F4 tornado. The death toll stands at 116 but that number is expected to rise as rescuers and volunteers continue frantically searching through the rubble for victims and hopefully survivors. The tornado that hit Joplin is one of the deadliest in Missouri’s history. The storm packed winds of between 166 and 200 miles per hour as it slammed into heavily populated neighborhoods, flattening homes and leaving cars twisted and smashed.
Missouri governor Jay Nixon called in the National Guard and declared a state of emergency. President Barack Obama called Nixon to offer his condolences. Obama has told FEMA administrator Craig Fugate to go to Joplin to assess the damage and a FEMA team is on site to help city officials identify needs.
The monster tornado that tore through Joplin was on the ground for about twenty minutes. The images it has left behind will remain with the residents for the remainder of their lives. Not only the view of the flat homes and buildings that are now rubble or the cars that are left looking like smashed soda cans. The most haunting images are those of the bodies of the dead that officials laid in the streets for residents to identify.
The governor swore that “every square foot” of the area will be searched to be sure that every person is accounted for. Most of the city’s south end was flattened and up to one-forth of all of the buildings in the city were damaged.
Memphis flooding disaster going from bad to worse
May 6, 2011
As flooding continues to spread throughout Tennessee, residents of Memphis have been warned to brace themselves for water coming their way. West Memphis is already caught up with massive flooding caused in part by the Wolf River. Side streets are already blocked by water, trapping homeowners and ruining businesses and worse is expected as the Mississippi river rises towards a crest of 48 feet; just 0.7 inches lower than the floods of 1937.
Steps of been taken to delay the flooding by Army Corps blasting a two mile wide hole in a levee near Cairo but this can only work as a temporary measure with more rain heavy expected. Authorities are considering calling in the National Guard if the flooding continues and the likelihood of people becoming trapped increases.
Authorities are urging that people take steps to protect homes and businesses and evacuate as soon as possible. Sandbags should be administered and furniture and valuables should be moved away from ground floor level.
As flooding creeps ever closer to central Memphis, one area of the city that is already suffering the effects is Mud Island. Mud Island sits next to the mighty Mississippi river and is a three mile long strip of land that is home to around 1,500 homes and businesses. The areas location is an affluent part of Memphis with around 6,000 residents living in beautiful 20-year-old homes with normally fantastic river views. Flooding in Mud Island will have a devastating effect not only on residents and business owners but on the area’s tourism income that is generated through its museum devoted to the history of the Mississippi, and the popular Mud Island Park.
Church shelters are being set up to cater to residents that have chosen to evacuate; many of these residents are from the suburb of Millington which is a low lying working class area of Memphis. Millington is home to many living in trailers making the threat of living in dirty and stinking water effecting homes a large probability. Evacuating the area is a must especially for those with children but with some families having no flood insurance, leaving belongings behind will be a tough choice.
Riverside Drive in downtown Memphis has also begun to experience a small amount of flooding with water creeping in the lowest end of Beale Street. Just a half mile away is the streets bustling area of shops, bars and restaurants, which if affected will devastate the economy.
Despite Constant Flooding Threats Property Owners Continue To Rebuild
April 26, 2011
History has a way of teaching us lessons. People who live in a tornado prone area have built shelters. Just as people who live in hurricane ridden coastal shores have shutters and such to protect their structures from high winds and pounding water. The folks who live near creeks, streams and rivers in the Midwest should really take a look at where they build their homes and businesses. Flooding is no stranger to this area, but despite the flooding problems homeowners and business owners continue to rebuild in these areas when flooding occurs.
There are actually businesses who know they are going to be flooded at least once annually and they prepare for springtime by removing over 80% of their stock. They bring in tractor-trailers and literally load it up, wait for the promised flooding and then move it all back in again. This is mind boggling. There are great things that can be done with land that is in the flood plain and in the direct path of surging waters when April showers come rolling in. Build parks, have wild life refuges, pitch and put golf courses, virtually anything that people can use but won’t be taken away with rapidly moving water. That really does NOT include homes and businesses. Sandbagging is one of those things that promises so much and gives so little once the wind starts blowing and rain begins to fall.
If you do not have flood insurance and the creek, stream or river does expand beyond its banks pushing massive amounts of water though your business or home, no one is going to pay for repair or replacement. Insurance companies really don’t pay out for stupidity and building where it is a known area for flooding pretty much falls into that category. The odd thing is, once flooding has come and gone, and houses are left in wreckage, people clean up, rebuild and start again, only to have it happen again and again.
If you live in an area that has never been flooded before and there is a one off storm of the century that somehow reaches your abode or business, then that is just plain unlucky. But really, if you live by a river, and you continue to suffer from flooding damages, then you may want to consider moving to an area that is outside of a flood zone or flood prone area to make life a bit less hectic every time there is a rain storm.
