Do you know the dangers of flood water after the water has gone down in North Georgia?

When one thinks of flood water, the imagination goes to several feet of water, not just a few inches. Any amount of standing water is dangerous from many standpoints. Standing water or flood water contain chemical hazards, infectious diseases, disease-causing bacteria, fungi, viruses, and risks of injury. Don’t be tempted to go look at the damages until you can be sure it’s safe.

Roads could be dangerous as floodwater can remain for several days and maintenance crews may not be able to re-open the roads, so do not drive on flooded roads.

It’s best to entirely avoid flood water on roads because you don’t know the depth and could be sucked under by a strong current or be trapped in a vehicle. Outdoors standing water can contain many harmful objects that you can’t see, including:

•    Livestock and/or Human waste
•    Medical, industrial or household waste
•    Vehicles, Lumber with nails and other sharp debris
•    Downed power lines that could electrocute you

Floodwater exposure in any form should be considered dangerous. It contains bacteria, viruses, chemicals, pesticides, and feces that can make you very ill or in some cases, cause death.

Gastrointestinal illnesses are the most common risk factors caused by large amounts of bacteria and parasites present in the water. Salmonella, and E. coli are the two biggest concerns, but Giardia and Cryptosporidium can have a serious negative impact as well.

Hepatitis A can be transmitted through contaminated water (usually from fecal matter) and causes liver damage.

Legionnaires disease is caused from the Legionella bacteria and is commonly found in floodwater. These bacteria cause pneumonia type symptoms including, shortness of breath, coughing, chills and fever. Legionnaires can be treated with antibiotics and left untreated can be fatal.

You can become contaminated through the skin, so avoid floodwater if you have open cuts or wounds.

If you do get floodwater on you, wash your skin thoroughly with soap and water, or use alcohol-based wipes or sanitizers.

Any wounds should be addressed by medical professionals.

Wash your clothes in hot water with plenty of detergent before wearing them again.

If you have floodwater to deal with, contact the professionals at Restoration 1 North Georgia to clean up the mess.