Prepping – After a Flood

It seems appropriate to talk about what to do after a flood, right now. With all the devastation down in the southern states, it’s on all our minds.

First and foremost, if you’re in the path of something and you know about it, listen to locals. If you’re asked to evacuate, DO SO. The people in the Carolinas and Tennessee didn’t receive evacuation orders until after it was too late, but people in Florida knew what was coming. Those who chose to stay behind did so at their own peril. When you ignore an evacuation order, you are telling the authorities that you are entirely on your own, and do not expect any aid from them. You do so knowing that 911 won’t work, that health and medical emergencies will need to be dealt with in house, and that you’ve decided you know better than the weatherman.

I realize it can be hard to leave everything behind. I’ve done it twice in my life, and it wasn’t any easier the second time than it was the first. What you’re leaving behind is Stuff and Things, and I guarantee you, Stuff and Things are not nearly important as Friends and Family. I speak with experience and authority here. Leaving ahead of an emergency allows you to leave on your own terms.  You can take the time to pack bags, to grab family photographs and important documentation. You can bring along family pets, and favorite children’s toys. Leaving (or attempting to leave) once the emergency is upon you means you’re leaving on the emergency’s terms, rather than your own. You may not have time to find the cat cowering in the basement, or find the woobie your kid can’t sleep without.

If you can’t leave, for whatever reason, then you need to make reasonable plans for what is likely to happen, what could happen, and what is unlikely to happen. There will always be things that can’t be planned for (like the current destruction of Asheville, for example), but you have to do your best.

In my area, we deal with freezing rain often enough that we know the power will go out at least once, and likely twice over the winter. In the spring, it’s wet weather and high winds knocking down trees and taking out power lines. The most likely occurrence is that we’ll be without power for a day or less. What might happen is that we’re out of power for a couple of days, and our water might be affected. It’s unlikely that we’ll be out for more than a few days, but we have things on hand to make that less troublesome if it does happen. We’ll be very busy canning all the stuff in our freezer, honestly.

Let’s consider the flooding down south, though. So those people have made it through. The waters are receding or have already receded. Now they have to deal with the hand they’ve been dealt. It’s not going to be pretty. Their first concern is going to be first aid, but let’s be honest… that may be a while coming. If you’re in that kind of disaster, be VERY careful while doing cleanups and recovery. Medical help is not necessarily close or timely, and a small scratch can turn into a raging staph infection incredibly quickly. Establish washing routines early.

That brings us to water. You need to have water. You may be looking around yourself, thinking that the problem is too much water. But none of that water is potable. That means setting up a method of cleaning the water. I’d suggest that any water collected be passed through a clean(ish) nylon stocking, then a dishcloth or cheesecloth, to get out any lumps or larger bits and pieces. After that, if you have a water filter, use it. If not, it’s time to figure out how to make a fire and boil your water. Honestly, I suggest boiling anyhow, because it will kill anything living in the water that’s bacterial in nature. Boil water for three minutes at a ROLLING boil, then allow it to cool before using it. Knowing it needs to be cooled first, means you need to plan ahead. This is why it’s good to keep a store of water on hand. It gives you something to drink and wash with before the new batch is ready.

Fire is an interesting topic after a flood. Things are going to be wet. Literally everything is going to be wet. You’ll want to get some wood up out of the waters as quickly as you possibly can. If you have a way of protecting some wood from damp, that’s a great thing. If not, you’ll have to dry it out in the sun. Wet wood generally doesn’t burn. Charcoal may or may not, so if you have some, that might be the way to go. This is the moment when you realize your Bic lighter isn’t going to work after being immersed for 2 days. Pull out your everystrike matches, or your zippo, or your ferro rod and striker, and get to work. It won’t be easy, but it’s important.

As you’re thinking about fire (but before you’ve made it), you must consider the question of whether there’s gas leaks in your area. If you’ve just lost power for a bit, it’s not a big deal, but if there’s widespread destruction like in Appalachia, it’s a real consideration. Do NOT start a fire if you aren’t 100% certain that the area you’re in is free of leaking gas. You don’t want a gas explosion on top of the flood. Don’t start a fire inside a house, no matter how saturated it is. There’s too many hazards involved. Step outside, and make your fire there. It’s the safe thing to do.

I watched a TikTok of a young woman feeding her family and her neighbors by starting a small, controlled fire (outside) within an old aluminum pot she found. She put an oven rack on top, so she could set a pot on it, and voila, a “stove” to cook on. This is a safe way to keep your fire under control, but still achieve your goal. Also, the inside of the pot is easier to dry out than the ground, most likely! Charcoal briquettes on and around a dutch oven also serve as a decent oven, for baking bread or pies in (or anything else, really).

With floods, you tend to get bugs. You’re going to want to be prepared for mosquitoes and chiggers, as well as anything else that flies and stings. Water snakes, especially down south, can be venomous and dangerous. You may need to be concerned about alligators in places. Know all these dangers BEFORE disaster strikes your area.

People will probably want to go back into their homes, but that may not be a good idea. Make sure any buildings are structurally sound before entering them, even briefly. Do not become one of the statistics in the aftermath of a disaster. If you made it through safely, it would be stupid to negate that because you went back in the house to find “something important” that really wasn’t all that useful anyhow. Shelter may be important, but not as important as your life. Consider tents, FEMA shelters, or rigging your own tarp shelter before going into a structure that may give way. Nothing is as important as your life.

Having emergency supplies like tents, sleeping bags, mosquito netting, first aid supplies, fresh water, and filters is important. Those who were prepared for the storm were less affected by it. It’s not that they lost any less (when a flash flood takes your home, you’re in a mess no matter how prepared you are), but just that they’re considerably less likely to be a statistic. If you’re able to hunker down in a safe spot to wait for roads to open up, that’s much better than trying to scramble for food, water, shelter, and first aid.

As Liberty Doll mentioned, this kind of thing points out holes in your prep. Learn from it. Those of us who aren’t in the south, learn from those folks!