Safety Update - Flooding

Will this rain ever stop?


Today we are going to expand our safety bulletin into more general advice regarding flood safety with seven tips to deal with flooding incidents.


1. Take care when walking through moving water. Water below knee deep can knock you off your feet.


2. Animals frequently fair better than their owners. When pets get into deep water, don’t put yourself at risk attempting rescues.


3. Flood water frequently contains sewage, any contact is potentially a health hazard, good personal hygiene routines are essential including dealing with clothing and footwear.

Now wash your hands!

4. Driving through floodwater can be expensive and dangerous. Getting water into the air intake will do damage to your engine. Getting electronic components wet will also probably be a bad idea, leading to stalled engines and expensive repairs. More dangerous is trying to drive through moving water, as cars will float if taken into even relatively shallow water and can then be washed away………. with you in them! This is a common cause of flood related deaths, especially in the USA.

5. Playing, or showing off, around flooded watercourses can look great on YouTube. However, remember if you end up in a fast flowing stream you can be carried into obstacles causing injury or trapped against structures or debris. If you find yourself caught in a current don’t try to swim against it, but move diagonally, with the flow, towards a bank or safe place. Trees at the side of streams can be very dangerous in these circumstances as you may become trapped beneath them.

Amazing what gets washed up against bridges

6. If you have the misfortune to have your home flooded turn off the power (preferably before the flood arrives) and don’t turn it on again until you are sure it is safety to do so, it is likely that you will need professional guidance on this one.

7. And finally when the clean up starts be careful using petrol powered generators to power tools and equipment. Only run these in well ventilated locations, preferably outside.

We hope that you have all escaped the worst of the recent miserable weather. We are busy doing follow up inspections, for several of our clients, on structures we have identified as being at risk from Scour. Forewarned is a useful thing to be in this case, and prior assessment is proving a useful way of recognising structures at risk.

Thanks to Dr Lorna Fewtrell for the today's photographs