Flooding can be devastating to your food and water stores. Here are some tips for making sure that you do not consume anything that can make you sick.
First of all you should stick to drinking bottled water if you can. However do not drink bottled water that has been exposed to flood waters as it can be contaminated. If you do not have bottled water then make sure you boil water before you drink it.
If the water to be boiled looks cloudy then put it through a filter before you boil it. Store it in clean containers and then drink. If you have no way of boiling water then you can disinfect it using household bleach. After filtering ad 1/8 teaspoon (about 8 drops) of regular unscented household bleach per each gallon of water and stir well. Let it stand at least thirty minutes before you drink it.
Do not eat any food that may have come into contact with flood waters and discard any food that was not in a waterproof container. Food containers that are not waterproof are those with snap lids, pull tops and screw caps. Cardboard juice or broth cartons also must be discarded if they have come into contact with flood waters.
Canned foods may be okay if they are not damaged. Signs of damage are selling, leaking, punctures, holes, fractures, extensive rusting, or denting that creases the can. If you are unable to open the can with a can opener then it may be too bent out of shape to use.
If you have commercially prepared foods in all metal cans and flexible pouches you might be able to save the food by removing the labels, cleaning off all dirt and then rinsing it with soap and water. You can then sanitize the cans and pouches in boiling water or disinfect them by immersing them in a solution of one gallon of water plus one tablespoon of liquid bleach for fifteen minutes. Make sure that the bleach that you are using is unscented.
After you are done cleaning the cans and pouches be sure to air-dry them. After that you can use a marker to manually label the contents of the cans and pouches.
Make sure that anywhere that the food was once stored is also very well cleaned with chlorine bleach. Try to store the food in places that were not touched by floodwaters if at all possible.