Here are some tips from the Greenwich Health Department on how
to stay safe while cleaning up after a flood: CLEANING UP AFTER
A FLOOD Flood waters must be assumed to be contaminated with
disease bacteria. When sewage treatment plants are flooded they
are sometimes forced to pass raw sewage directly into flooded
streams and rivers. Additionally, the normal safety separations
between private septic systems and wells may be bridged by
rising and waning flood waters. These waters may, therefore,
carry the germs of a range of sicknesses typified by diarrhea
and other communicable diseases. All material that they touch
should be either disinfected or discarded. In the event of a
flood… • If your home or workplace is flooding, turn off
basement furnaces and the outside gas valve. Do not handle
energized electrical equipment in wet areas. Shut off the
electricity. If the area around the fuse box or circuit breaker
is wet, stand on a dry board and shut off the power with a dry
wooden stick. Do not turn the power back