This story is written by American Red Cross worker Allen Crabtree.
“When will the water drop enough so that I can get back to see my home?” is a question heard everywhere in Minot these days, as the waters of the swollen Souris River slowly recede. Section by section the City of Minot is allowing homeowners back in their neighborhoods when it is safe to do so. “We are concerned about people’s safety,” said Minot City Mayor Curt Zimbelman. “It is not just the water level, but also live electrical wires in the flooded area, and the hazards that residents will have to deal with in cleaning out their homes and rebuilding them.”
Cleaning a flood damaged home is not only a dirty back-breaking job; it is also fraught with health hazards. The American Red Cross recently teamed with the North Dakota State University Cooperative Extension Service and First District Health Unit to offer two training sessions in Minot for homeowners to show them ways to safely handle the task.
Nearly 1,200 people attended the workshops at the Sleep Inn conference room led by Ken Hellevang, PhD, PE, Extension Engineer and professor at North Dakota State University. “After the flood waters have dropped enough to allow you to get back in the building and you start to clean your home there are a number of hazards that you must be aware of and avoid to prevent serious personal injury,” Hellevang said. “Homes may have structural damage, there may be live electrical wires, and you most certainly will have to deal with mold and other biological contamination.” He added that some homes will also present lead dust and asbestos hazards, and all of the cleanup work holds the potential of workers getting cuts or punctures.
He went through the step by step process and procedures for cleaning a flooded home. Hellevang talked about structural evaluation, utilities, what can be saved and what needs to be thrown out, the sequence of removing materials, cleaning and sanitizing procedures, hazards of flood clean-up, personal safety and protection, proper mold removal procedures, biocides, and structural drying. Specific aspects of cleaning a basement, crawl space, or main floor were covered.
American Red Cross workers Bonnie Bailey-Jones and Allen Crabtree spoke to the audience and emphasized the importance of being safe while reentering homes and undertaking the cleanup task. “Please take some of the informational material from the Red Cross and the Extension Service when you leave today,” added Crabtree. “It has tips to help make the process a little easier and a lot safer.” Red Cross cleanup kits were also distributed to the crowd, and at two other locations in Minot. For more information residents may download American Red Cross materials or go to the Cooperative Extension Service’s Flood Information site.
[...] “What do I do after the flood?” (North Dakota, 2011) [...]