- April 19, 2024
-
-
Loading
Loading
The following information was provided by Volusia County Community Information Service.
After a hurricane, it’s important that the water you drink and food you eat is safe. Spoiled food or dirty water can make you and your family sick.
● If your power is out, keep your refrigerator and freezer doors closed as much as possible to keep in the cool air.
● Put a block of ice in your refrigerator if you expect the power will be out for more than four hours. It will keep food cool longer.Wear heavy gloves when handling the ice.
● Even if it's partially thawed, you can still cook or refreeze frozen food as long as you can see ice crystals or if it's still 40 degrees Fahrenheit or lower. Throw out spoiled food
● It is in a can that’s open, damaged, or bulging.
● It has a strange smell, color, or texture.
● It needs to be refrigerated but has been warmer than 40 degrees
Fahrenheit for two hours or longer. Foods that need to be kept cold include meat, eggs, fish, poultry, and leftovers.
If you have cans of food that came in contact with floodwater or storm water, you need to clean them off to make sure they’re safe to use. To get germs off the outside of the cans:
● Remove the labels.
● Dip the cans in a mix of five gallons of water and one cup of household bleach.
● Label the cans with a permanent marker so you know what’s inside.
Ask local officials or listen to the news to find out whether you can drink tap water or use it for washing. If it’s not safe, use bottled water if you can. If you don’t have bottled water, there are some things you can do to kill germs in dirty water and make it safe to drink. For example:
● Bring water to a rolling boil for on minute.
● Use household bleach. Add one-eighth teaspoon (or eight drops) of new, unscented liquid bleach to one gallon of water. Stir well. Let the water sit for 30 minutes before you drink it.
● Use water-purifying tablets. Adding these to water make it safe to drink. Follow the product’s directions.
If you have a baby, protect her from germs in unsafe water. You can:
● Keep breastfeeding if that’s what you normally do.
● Use canned or premixed liquid formula.
● Use bottled water to make formula from a powder or concentrate.
If you don’t have bottled water, use boiled water to make formula. Make sure the water has cooled before mixing it with formula and giving it to your baby.
Only use treated (disinfected or purified) water to make formula if you don’t have access to bottled or boiled water.
SOURCE: http://www.cdc.gov/disasters/hurricanes/foodwater.html
