Hurricane Preparations and Water Safety

There are quite a few things that you need to do if you are preparing for a hurricane to hit your area and you do not want to leave your home, but perhaps the most important thing is making sure that you have a sizeable supply of bottled water in your home. This should be proportional to the number of people living in your home at the time of the storm.

The safety of the water that you will be drinking while the storm is raging outside and even after the storm is gone is important to your survival. You should keep around at least one gallon of water per person per day. Never assume that the water that comes out of your faucet is clean, because water from the sea and possibly from sewers can contaminate water treatment plants in your area. This contaminated water will make you extremely sick and could even possibly lead to death. During a hurricane or a flood, never drink anything but bottled water. Water purification tablets should also be kept on hand and chlorinated bleach can also be used to purify water in most situations. 8 drops per gallon of contaminated water should be enough. Let the treated water set for at least 30 minutes before drinking it.

While water damage to your home may be an important issue after the flood waters have receded, water damage to your body due to contaminated water is even more important. Even if you are not drinking the contaminated water, it can still cause damage to your system, especially if you have open cuts or wounds that have been exposed to it. Wash these with soap and bottled (or chlorine bleach treated) water to keep them from becoming infected.

Children should not be allowed to play in flood waters, no matter how hot it might get inside the home you are staying in. If there are toys that have come into contact with contaminated water, these need to be disinfected before allowing a child to play with them, as well. The hands of children should also be washed very thoroughly often and especially before meals.

Boarding up your windows and doors with plywood is a good idea to keep your windows from being blown out and the glass sent flying into your home and possibly into you.


Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
Texas Residential Water Damage Restoration Contractors and
Water Damage Restoration companies across the united states.