User:VandenbergLocke407

Entering Your Home After a Flood-Forced Evacuation

As a result of the extensive flooding in the UK this summer many people have been forced to evacuate their homes. And it's not only locally where this has been happening. Across the world there are certain areas prone to flooding either caused by rain, melting snow or other force majeure factors.

While you may think it's simple to then just enter your house upon return and let life go on as normal, unfortunately it's not so straightforward.

The authorities wouldn't let people back into their homes if they hadn't performed certain checks beforehand, and pumped out any water, but other tasks will still need to be completed to return back to life as it was before. It's most important to be careful and be vigilant when returning to your home as you never know what surprises could be lurking behind the front door.

Family Safety

Don't let children into the house before you've assessed the situation. Things to look out for are animals that may have gained access into your home during the floods, dangerous debris like pieces of metal and wood, as well as any structural damage to furniture or even the building itself that the authorities may have missed.

Food Safety

Check your food stores to see how much of your products have been affected by the water, and whether any animals have wreaked havoc in your kitchen or pantry upon the smell of food.

It's better to be safe than sorry so it's best to take drastic measures and get rid of anything you think may have gotten in harm's way.

A common misconception is that tinned food is still safe to eat even after being submerged in water, but unfortunately this isn't the case. The water is likely to have caused the tin to rust, contaminating its contents.

Essentially, anything that has come in contact with flood water could be contaminated since the water is not clean having picked up debris and bacteria along the way from its source.