Equipped To Survive Equipped To Survive® Presents
The Survival Forum
Where do you want to go on ETS?

Topic Options
#261444 - 06/22/13 10:54 PM Drying out after a flash flood?
dougwalkabout Offline
Crazy Canuck
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 02/03/07
Posts: 3219
Loc: Alberta, Canada
I'm not sure if this made the news in the U.S., but over the last 48 hours, flash floods have hit the southern half of Alberta pretty hard, including the City of Calgary.

A freak, stalled system dumped 8 inches of rain in 18 hours, on top of the normal seasonal snowmelt from the Rocky Mountains.

Basically, 100,000 people in cities and towns have had to run for higher ground.

http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/06/21/...massive-floods/

http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/06/20/...uthern-alberta/

I'm farther north and am not affected, but we have family in the area. I was curious as to what priorities and methods you would use to clean up and dry out a flooded house.

Top
#261446 - 06/23/13 12:16 AM Re: Drying out after a flash flood? [Re: dougwalkabout]
bws48 Offline
Old Hand

Registered: 08/18/07
Posts: 831
Loc: Anne Arundel County, Maryland
No personal experience with repairing a flooded house, but from what I understand and have read, pretty much everything that got wet will need to be replaced. Apparently, this is especially true for wallboard/plasterboard. It will not dry properly and will develop one or more types of mold some of which can be a serious health hazard(even if on the outside it looks OK, in the wall it can be very bad).

Our local TV stations have been running advertisements for flood insurance. Most, if not all, homeowners insurance policies in the US do not cover flood damage, so your on your own unless you buy a separate policy.
_________________________
"Better is the enemy of good enough."

Top
#261451 - 06/23/13 01:57 PM Re: Drying out after a flash flood? [Re: dougwalkabout]
Lono Offline
Old Hand

Registered: 10/19/06
Posts: 1013
Loc: Pacific NW, USA

Top
#261455 - 06/23/13 05:31 PM Re: Drying out after a flash flood? [Re: Lono]
PackRat Offline
Journeyman

Registered: 09/23/05
Posts: 56
City of Calgary has posted a useful PDF that may cover some of what you are looking for:

[url=]http://www.cocnmp.com/eoc/ArrivingHome2.pdf[/url]

Top
#261466 - 06/24/13 07:05 PM Re: Drying out after a flash flood? [Re: ]
Roarmeister Offline
Old Hand

Registered: 09/12/01
Posts: 960
Loc: Saskatchewan, Canada
Originally Posted By: IzzyJG99
Here in Florida it's common practice because of the humidity and mold, to strip everything down to the studs. You then spray the studs down with a pressure washer with bleach solution. Let it dry with the aid of dehumidifiers and propane heaters. Then....just rebuild. Insurance has paid for it a number of times in my extended family and friends.


For the most part if it is just wet that method works. But if a lot of mud came with it, there is a bit more work to it than that. Cutting up the drywall and santizing the studs is only part of the work. (PS black mould will grow on starch of the paper backings of the drywall and then onto the studs if not caught in time). Flooring and wood sub-floors will have to be replaced. And if the water came higher than 18" in the basement, you also have to replace your electrical outlets and any equipment like furnaces and water heaters. If water hits them, the inspectors will red tag them. If the water reaches the electrical panel then you are replacing your entire service. From the pics I've seen of Calgary (I've got lots of friends and relatives there) some of those homes are completely underwater near the rivers. Those are nearly a total loss except for the foundations. (Why homeowners build in flood plains is beyond me! Why the developers would choose to do this is illogical and why the City would allow development in the first place totally baffles me!)

Edit: Packrat's link to the Calgary document is great. It is very comphrensive and full of good information!

The Saddledome (home of the Flames) has water up to the 10th row. While a proposal for a new stadium is in the works, they will still need to do inteirm repairs as the dressing rooms, ice equipment and concessions are toast. The stampede grounds themselves will be lucky to get dried out in time for the Stampede let allow any remediation. And then there is all the road work, power lines, transformers, rail lines, upheaved sewer and water lines and Calgary is looking a multi-billion $ price to repair. [I've already made my little donation for relief efforts.] This isn't just Calgary, this flooding affect most of the communities from the eastern Rockies and downstream and all the way to the east side of Saskatchewan! 90% of Cumberland House just evac'd this morning.


Edited by Roarmeister (06/24/13 09:05 PM)

Top
#261474 - 06/25/13 04:30 AM Re: Drying out after a flash flood? [Re: dougwalkabout]
dougwalkabout Offline
Crazy Canuck
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 02/03/07
Posts: 3219
Loc: Alberta, Canada
Yeah, it's a mess. Early estimates of total damage run $3-5 billion.

Early word is that our family didn't get hit nearly as hard as others. Flooded crawlspace, but the main floor is okay.

Regardless, thanks for the links and info.


Edited by dougwalkabout (06/25/13 04:31 AM)

Top



Moderator:  MartinFocazio, Tyber 
March
Su M Tu W Th F Sa
1 2
3 4 5 6 7 8 9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16
17 18 19 20 21 22 23
24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31
Who's Online
0 registered (), 446 Guests and 20 Spiders online.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Newest Members
GallenR, Jeebo, NicholasMarshall, Yadav, BenFoakes
5367 Registered Users
Newest Posts
Zippo Butane Inserts
by NAro
Today at 11:57 AM
What did you do today to prepare?
by dougwalkabout
03/27/24 11:21 PM
Question about a "Backyard Mutitool"
by Ren
03/17/24 01:00 AM
Problem in my WhatsApp configuration
by Chisel
03/09/24 01:55 PM
New Madrid Seismic Zone
by Jeanette_Isabelle
03/04/24 02:44 PM
EDC Reduction
by EchoingLaugh
03/02/24 04:12 PM
Newest Images
Tiny knife / wrench
Handmade knives
2"x2" Glass Signal Mirror, Retroreflective Mesh
Trade School Tool Kit
My Pocket Kit
Glossary
Test

WARNING & DISCLAIMER: SELECT AND USE OUTDOORS AND SURVIVAL EQUIPMENT, SUPPLIES AND TECHNIQUES AT YOUR OWN RISK. Information posted on this forum is not reviewed for accuracy and may not be reliable, use at your own risk. Please review the full WARNING & DISCLAIMER about information on this site.