Food

It is possible that during or after an emergency situation, food is not in good enough shape for consumption. Water used for drinking, cooking and hygiene should be bottled, boiled or treated. Your local or state health department may issue specific recommendations to boil or treat water in your area.

Identify and dispose of food that might be dangerous for consumption

•    Dispose of any food that might have been in contact with storm or flood water
•    Dispose of food with abnormal odor, color or texture.
•    Dispose of perishable foods (including meat, chicken, fish, eggs and leftovers) that have been at 40 degrees Fahrenheit (4.5 degrees Celsius) or more, during 2 or more hours.
•    Thawed foods with ice crystals or that have been kept under 40 degrees Fahrenheit (4.5 degrees Celsius) may be cooked or refrozen.
•    Dispose of canned foods whose containers are open, damaged or bloated.
•    Food containers with screw-on lids, pressure lids, dented lids (jars), and other types of manual lids and canned foods should be thrown out if they have been in contact with flood waters since they are cannot be disinfected anymore.
•    If cans have been in contact with storm or flood waters, remove the labels, wash them and place them in a solution with 1 cup of domestic use chlorine and 5 gallons (19 liters) of water. Re-label the cans with a marker.
•    Do not use contaminated water to wash dishes, brush your teeth, wash clothes or prepare food, wash your hands, make ice or prepare baby formula.

Store food safely

•    Keep refrigerator and freezer doors shut as long as possible until power is restored.
•    If power is going to be off for more than 4 hours, place blocks of ice or dry ice in the refrigerator. Wear thick gloves when touching ice. 

Feeding babies and young children

•    If the babies are being breast fed, they should continue being breast fed. For babies that drink formula, already prepared formula should be provided, if possible. If already prepared formula is not available, it is best to use bottled water to prepare powdered or concentrated formulas. If there is no bottled water available, use boiled water. Use treated water to prepare formulas only if there is no bottled or boiled water available.
o    If you prepare formulas with boiled water, allow bottle to cool enough before feeding the baby.
o    Wash the baby bottles and nipples with bottled, boiled or treated water before using.
o    Wash your hands before preparing the bottles and before feeding the baby. You can use an alcohol based disinfectant to clean your hands if you don’t have enough water.

Water

It is possible that, after an emergency such as those caused by a hurricane or flood, the water is not in a good enough state for drinking, cleaning or bathing with it. During a catastrophe and thereafter, the water can be contaminated with microorganism (such as bacteria), sewage waters, agricultural or industrial waste, chemical products or other substances that may cause a disease or even death. This information sheet offers the following guide to help you keep water in good shape for its consumption:

•    Listen and follow authority instructions. Local authorities will tell you if you can drink tap water or if you can use it to cook or bathe. If water is not in good shape for consumption, follow local authority instructions of using bottled water or boil or disinfect water for cooking, cleaning or bathing.
•    Until the water has been analyzed and determined that its state is adequate for consumption, use bottled, boiled or treated water to drink, cook or prepare food, washing dished, cleaning, brushing your teeth, washing your hands, making ice and bathing (however, check the baby food section). You can use an alcohol based disinfectant to clean your hands if you do not have enough water.
•    If you use bottled water, make sure it comes from a safe source. If you are not sure where the water comes from, you should boil it or treat it before using it.
•    Boil water, when it is practical, it is the preferred way of killing bacteria and harmful parasites. Most organisms die when the water boils for 1 minute. Boiling water does not eliminate chemical contaminants. If you suspect or have been informed that the water is contaminated with chemical substances, seek another source of water, such as bottled water.
•    When you are not able to boil water, you can treat it with chlorine or iodine tablets or with odorless domestic use chlorine (5.25% of sodium hypochlorite). If you use chlorine or iodine tablets, follow the instructions in the label. If you use domestic use chlorine, add 1/8 tbsp (~0.75 mL) of chlorine to each gallon (3.8 liters) of water if the water is clear. If the water is murky, add ¼ tbsp (~1.50 mL) of domestic use chlorine to each gallon (3.8 liters) of water. Mix the solution well and let it sit for 30 minutes before using it. Treating water with chlorine or iodine tablets or with domestic use liquid chlorine will not kill many parasites. Boiling the water is the best way of killing these organisms.
•    Do not trust water disinfecting methods or devices that have not been recommended or approved for local health authorities. Request advice from your local health department about water treatment products commercially advertized.
•    Use water storing tanks or any other type of containers cautiously. For example, fire truck tanks; as well cans or used jars can be contaminated with microorganisms or chemical substances. Water containers should be carefully washed and then rinsed with a domestic chlorine use before being consumed.
o    Mix clean water and soap in a container. Shake or stir the water to clean the inside of the container, then rinse.
o    Disinfect containers with a gallon or liter capacity, with a chlorine based solution of approximately one tbsp (4.9 mL) of domestic use chlorine (at 5.25%) in a cup of water (240 mL).
o    Cover the container and stir the chlorine based solution well so it is in contact with every internal surface. Let the covered container sit during 30 minutes; then rinse it with drinking water.

•    After flood waters go down, tests should be conducted to determine the quality of flooded private wells and proceed to their disinfection. If you suspect that your well is contaminated, get in touch with the health department or agriculture agency in your community or state and ask for specific advice. Later we will explain measures for well disinfection after an emergency.
•    Follow basic hygiene measures. Wash your hands with soap and bottled water or that has been boiled or disinfected. Wash your hands before preparing or eating food, after using the bathroom, after engaging in cleaning chores and after handling articles contaminated by flood or sewage water. Use an alcohol based hand disinfectant to clean your hands if there is not enough clean water.
•    Clean children’s toys that have been in contact with the water. To clean them, prepare a mix of 1 cup of domestic use chlorine and 5 gallons (19 liters) of water. Allow toys to air dry after cleaning them.
Listen to the radio or television to receive last minute emergency information.