How to Keep Your Food and Water Safe After a Flood

Severe floods and natural disasters often catch us completely off guard. When homes flood and the power goes out for days, simple daily tasks like getting a drink of water or making a meal become major safety challenges.

You might wonder if your tap water is safe to drink or if food in your fridge is still good to eat. Making a small mistake in these moments can easily make everyone in your family sick.

Let us walk through exactly how to keep your drinking water pure, check your food supplies safely, and protect your home after a flood.

How to Keep Your Drinking Water Safe After a Flood

After a flood or storm, never assume that water coming straight from your tap is safe to drink. Floodwaters often mix directly with public or private water pipe networks, allowing dangerous germs and bacteria to get inside.

Always pay close attention to safety announcements and boil-water notices issued by your local health department or emergency management center. If you have no access to bottled water and suspect your tap water is unsafe, you must purify it before drinking.

Here are three simple, effective ways to purify your drinking water at home:

• Boiling Water: This is the best and safest method to kill harmful germs. Pour your water into a clean pot and heat it on your stove until it reaches a rolling boil. Keep it boiling for at least one full minute. If you live high up in mountain areas, boil it for three minutes. Let the water cool down completely before you drink it. This simple process kills almost all disease-causing bacteria and viruses.
• Using Liquid Household Bleach: If you cannot boil water, you can use regular, unscented household liquid bleach. First, take about 4 liters (one gallon) of clear water. Add just 8 drops of fresh, unscented liquid bleach to the water. Mix it thoroughly and let the water sit undisturbed for at least 30 minutes before using it. Important warning: While this method kills most bacteria, it may not destroy certain hardy parasites. Never use more bleach than the recommended amount.
• Water Purification Tablets: You can buy these handy tablets at local pharmacies or outdoor sporting goods stores. Follow the instructions on the package to treat your water safely. Keeping a pack of these tablets in your emergency kit at home is always a wise choice.

Food Safety After a Flood

If floodwaters enter your home, your first step should be to inspect all stored food items. Perishable items that spoil quickly—such as meat, fish, milk, eggs, and seafood—can make you very sick even if you cook them thoroughly later.

Remember, never eat any food that has touched floodwater. Even if the package looks clean and undamaged on the outside, dangerous germs may have seeped inside.

To help you decide what is safe and what must go, use the following comparison guide.

How to Clean Cans and Jars Safely

Even if an undamaged canned food item looks secure, you must clean it thoroughly before opening it up to cook.

• First, peel off and throw away any paper product labels attached to the cans.
• Next, wash the metal cans thoroughly using warm water and dish soap.
• Prepare a sanitizing solution by mixing one-quarter cup of household bleach into 4 liters of water. Soak your washed cans in this solution for about 15 minutes.
• After sanitizing, use a waterproof marker to write the food name and expiration date directly onto the metal surface.

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What to Do When the Power Goes Out

When storms knock out your electricity, protecting the food stored inside your refrigerator and freezer becomes an urgent task.

• Keep your refrigerator and freezer doors closed as much as humanly possible to trap the cold air inside.
• A closed refrigerator will keep food safely cold for about 4 hours during a power failure.
• A full, well-stocked freezer will hold its freezing temperature for about 48 hours (2 days). If it is only half full, it will keep things cold for about 24 hours.
• If you can prepare ahead of time, place dry ice in your freezer to keep foods frozen much longer.
• Eat perishable foods like meat, fish, and eggs while they are still at safe cold temperatures, and make sure you cook them thoroughly.
• Always wash fresh fruits and vegetables with clean, safe drinking water before you eat them.
• If you have a baby at home: Whenever possible, use ready-to-feed, canned baby formula that requires no added water. If you must use powdered formula, mix it exclusively with bottled or purified water.

What to Do After the Power Returns

Once electricity comes back on, do not rush to eat everything in your fridge without checking it first.

• Check your freezer: If you kept a food thermometer inside, look at the temperature reading. If it reads 4 degrees Celsius (40 degrees Fahrenheit) or lower, your food is safe and can be refrozen. If you have no thermometer, check each package for ice crystals. If ice crystals are still present, the food is safe. Never rely on smell or appearance alone to judge whether food has spoiled.
• Check your refrigerator: If the power outage lasted for less than 4 hours, most refrigerated items are completely safe to eat.
• Throw away perishable items like meat, fish, eggs, and leftover cooked meals if they sat at temperatures above 4 degrees Celsius (40 degrees Fahrenheit) for more than two hours.

Follow this simple golden rule: "When in doubt, throw it out!" It is always better to discard questionable food than risk a severe illness.

If you or someone in your family eats contaminated food and develops symptoms like stomach cramps, vomiting, or diarrhea, visit a doctor right away. These are classic signs of food poisoning.