Brisbane CBD ordered to evacuate?

[BIGJB]

Here ya go guys I think all car clubs in SEQ on here should attend this.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jqGuosKXRg

[Peuty]

Here is a great guide to getting your house back to operating specs after being inundated with water. Courtesy of myliberty on performanceforums.com


Cleaning up after a flood
________________________________________
With my experience (which extends to managing flood damage mitigation of 1200 homes in Newcastle, just to give you an idea) this is what I would do if my house was inundated with flood water:

The key in these situations is to get the place clean and habitable as soon as possible – it's always the best outcome.

Safety first
You are dealing with Category 3 water loss – this is the same category as raw sewage. You don't know what is in the water, so you must treat it as contaminated and use some common sense.

Use a paper face mask simply to prevent water from splashing in your mouth. When working in affected areas, wear gloves, and have wash water and soap on hand, taking regular breaks to wash your hands and face. I’d also replace the mask if it gets splashed. Wear safety glasses to minimise splashing in your face and, hey, you'll probably be working with power tools – it is common sense. This is the minimum protection I would suggest and is what I would do.

Isolate power to the house if you can, the easiest way is to trip the circuit-breaker. Use battery-powered tools where possible, instead of 240v tools, until you have the place cleaned up. If you use power tools, use a generator/genset, not mains power – leave the house isolated.

Before you start, you’ll need a bunch of large plastic storage containers. Buy in bulk from a $2 shop as you will need enough to pack your household contents (at least the ones which copped flood water) into them.

If your house has been inundated up to the roof, be careful removing ceiling panels for two reasons:
1. Roof insulation may be soaked above the ceiling and it may come down with a crash.
2. Where do you think the local wildlife ends up in a flood? Watch for snakes and other creepy crawlies in your roof and walls as you pull the place apart.

Don't be in a rush to get back to your house because I have seen first hand flood water recede and then come back with a vengeance. Check reports from several sources to make sure the flood is actually over and it is safe to return. I can't tell you how many times I've had to clean places twice in two days. And be careful driving through flood affected areas.

Where to start?
Don't be in a massive rush to rip into the clean up. I've always found when dealing with floods – whether it's one house or 1000 – you'll be more productive if you stop, sit down with the team helping you and discuss the plan and objectives.

I'm going to pretend the water was 1m deep and go from there. If you had more or less water, the response might be slightly different, but the basic idea is the same: use your common sense.

Remove all clothing items and linen, stuff it into bags or put it in plastic tubs. Call a friend and put them on washing duty – this means everything, even shoes. Wash them thoroughly and dry them out, as you can then make an assessment as to whether they are salvageable.

If you leave them dirty, you don't have a choice – they will be ruined. A good option is to wash everything twice, but the second time ‘round, use an anti-microbial in the rinse cycle. You can then be sure there will be nothing to fear lurking in the fabrics.

While your friend is washing clothing, remove any soft furnishings, furniture, carpet, underlay, beds and the like. Soft furnishings are anything porous or which can soak up water. Unfortunately for the kids, their soft toys and pillows, cushions and the like are all ruined. The only thing to do with that stuff is to dump it – sorry kids. For the time being, dump it on your footpath as the council will do curb-side collection – in some cases with a front-end loader!

At the same time as stuff is being dumped on the footpath have someone pack up the house. And that means everything, the whole house, from CDs to crockery, to china dolls to cutlery. Pack everything (and I stress, everything) into plastic storage tubs and give them to a friend.

Tell this friend to take care of your worldly belongings, but "scrub the bejesus out of them". I'd scrub everything by hand, with brushes and detergent, and then run everything through the dishwasher – it's already been in practically sewerage, so going through a good scrub is not going to make it worse, just sanitary.

Electronics are beyond the scope of my tips here. At this time, I’d assume everything electronic is ruined and dump it. This applies to appliances as well – everything from the fridge, to oven and cooktop, washing machine dryer and that nice new TV. Sorry, but it's probably all stuffed.

That's belongings and contents (electronics and furniture) taken care of. The house should have no carpets or anything like that left, and this includes removing fake timber floors and the like. Now, it is onto the house itself.

Once it is stripped…
Once the place is stripped we look at stuff like hard furniture. A lot of hard furniture, even timber furniture, may be ok to keep if it is cleaned properly (ie: scrub the bejesus out of it). It's already been submersed, so putting it in water again to clean it won’t make it worse.

Make a judgement on what to keep and what to dump, but remember that water gets everywhere: you will have to disassemble every/anything that was affected and check everything closely.

Next up is the walls. Most places have Gyprock, so my advice is based on this fact. Gyprock panels are 1.2m so take your battery angle grinder with a blade, or your small hand saw, and cut out all Gyprock touched by flood water. Yes, all of it.

I’d advise cutting 100mm above where the water reached, and remember to take care around plumbing and wiring. You should have already isolated the power, so there is no risk of being zapped, but you don't want to pay for electrical repairs when putting the house back together, so go easy. Once you’ve cut it all out, dump all the flood affected Gyprock on the curb.

By the end of this, you should, if you get on your knees, be able to see all the external walls of the house and be left with nothing but a timber frame from (just above) the height of the flood, down to ground. Skirtings need to be removed, as well as internal doors, too.

The concept is the same if your house went under to the roof. You just remove more Gyprock, so you are just left with the frame in the house and roof. However, be careful handling insulation in roofs it is generally extremely disgusting to handle (and smell).

As said earlier, if your house has been inundated up to the roof, be careful removing ceiling panels for 2 reasons:
1. Insulation may be soaked above the ceiling and it may come down with a crash.
2. Where do you think the local wildlife ends up in a flood? Watch for snakes and other creepys in your roof and walls as you pull the place apart.


Washing up
Next up is detergent and broom and pressure cleaner time. A fire hose is best, then the next best is a pressure washer (Karcher or Gerney type thing), then mop/bucket.

The detergent doesn’t matter too much, either – Truckwash will do. The most important factor is to "scrub the bejesus" out of everything from the inside of the external walls, to all the frame work and, of course, the floor. You can then towel dry the frame and mop the floor.

After it has been cleaned, you can go around with a decent pump pack and apply an anti-microbial to absolutely everything the flood water was in contact with. Let the anti-microbial dwell and drip dry. I'd apply a helping to the floor too, then after a couple of hours of dwell time, squeegee the floor again.

If you follow the above concept - mould etc will not be an issue so don't listen to what will inevitably become the next lead story sensationalising massive mould problems. If you get it clean and dry in a reasonable timeframe you'll have no problems.

It’s sanitary – what next?
What you are left with is a gutted house that will dry quickly if there is adequate airflow. It should be ready for plasterers and paint, and you're back in business.

Your friend will deliver your clothes and other stuff that could go through the washing machine. Your other friend will deliver all your kitchenware and other bits and pieces that could be salvaged. Leave all that stuff in tubs and live out of plastic tubs until the house is done as it will keep things clean.

Have an electrician come through and give your lights and power the ok. The electrician will probably put a single 10a GPO in and give you one circuit to live on, because the rest are basically exposed and will remain exposed until plasterers put up new Gyprock.

For privacy (if you need it) inside, just staple heavy black plastic to the exposed frame. If you do this, it is very important to only put it on one side of the wall, as the frame needs to dry properly.

Council will look after sewage. Leave the toilet a few days, then flush it and clean it.

You'll have friends helping – that's what friends are for. Make sure one of them has a camera and they need to document the damage and document everything you dispose of – no matter how small! This is particularly important for electronic items, and they need to photograph serial numbers, too.

You will probably also have a lot of paperwork that is important and worth protecting. This is all stuff you can give to a friend who has a flat-bed scanner and a long USB cord (and they need to be a good friend as their scanner is going in the bin when you are finished with it).

Try to scan everything/anything you can, including family photos, title deeds, receipts, tax info and the like. It's not economical to have a commercial restorer try and salvage this stuff or your computer stuff – just have a savvy friend do their best and accept that if they get a good scan of one document or photo, it's better than nothing.

If you get your house clean, habitable and get some essentials in there, it doesn't matter how long it takes to get restorers/builders in. In fact, you are freeing them up those resources to help those that may not be able to do it themselves (ie. elderly/disabled).

Your house may be a bare frame/shell for a while, but it's safe, sanitary and you can live in it for the time being. Your insurance will rebuild it, but who knows when and how long it will take? There are crews of restoration guys doing this for insurers, but who knows how long the queue is?

[Full Noise]

Originally Posted by Peuty

Here is a great guide to getting your house back to operating specs after being inundated with water. Courtesy of myliberty on performanceforums.com

Great post, some very helpful information there.

[Geez Louise]

Some great advice there Peuty. Great post!

[GOLDIE]

just been helping some friends clean up here in our town what a mess the water was 2 meters high it is so hard seeing all this.

getting the mud out is the worst part of it all.


Ian

[DBourne]

great post man!

[BENT_8]

Just watched a report on a collector who has lost his 3 rare Fords and a rare motorcycle...nothing compared to the lives, homes etc. lost, but heartbraking all the same.

Stay positive guys!

[Jim Goose]

Amazed to watch that perents are letting their kids play in deep flood waters...
Seems likes its a local cricket club which has massive shade sails, the water is only just under the height of the sails (gotta be at least2m or more as the roof on the building is visible) and theres at least 5 kids jumping up and down on the shade sail!...

Come on folks dont you even bloody care where your kids are?

[turboxf]

Originally Posted by Geez Louise

Some great advice there Peuty. Great post!

Yes it is sound advice, one thing i didn't see on his list is gum boots & long pants & waders. have you seen the idiots walking in dirty water working with bare feet shorts & singlets , come on now safety is more important than getting cuts & scratches with raw sewerage from backed up toilets wading in it, the premier is right it needs to be a co ordinated clean up with volunteers to get registered or it will be odd hock & most of the good hearted people just rushing in to help will be the victims of this flood , lets use a bit of common sense & do the clean up correctly & safely not ad hock & dangerous .
Yes i know that most brisbanites walk around like that just about every day but this isn't an everyday thing it is dangerous & could be fatal to the volunteers helping out.
I am amazed at the images of helpers doing this the wrong way!!!!!!!!!

One thing you should do before you do anything is take pics of the house outside & backyard & then the inside of your house. it is for insurance wise do that before you enter the clean up , the insurance company wan't prooof so give them proof??????

[Smoke Pursuit]

Good advice above.

Also anyone dealing with older houses be weary of asbestos damage...

I cant believe the amount of people still not wearing boots / protective clothing on the clean up in various places.

[turboxf]

Originally Posted by DASH GT

Good advice above.

Also anyone dealing with older houses be weary of asbestos damage...

I cant believe the amount of people still not wearing boots / protective clothing on the clean up in various places.

If they were registered they would be given all the protection they need so yeh it is unbelievable?

That is good advise about the older homes mate

[Full Noise]

Originally Posted by DASH GT

I cant believe the amount of people still not wearing boots / protective clothing on the clean up in various places.

You’re not the only one. That water is toxic and I wouldn’t want one drop of it touching my skin. Sturdy boots are an absolute must. Anyone walking around flood waters with bare feet is an absolute fool.

[4Vman]

If i didnt have so much to look after here and i had another week off id be on a plane up there to help... makes you want to pitch in and do your bit to help.

[turboxf]

Originally Posted by 4Vman

If i didnt have so much to look after here and i had another week off id be on a plane up there to help... makes you want to pitch in and do your bit to help.

I don't know where you live mate but if it is NSW or VICTORIA the way things are happening in both states flood wise you might wan't to help there first, that flood water in NSW is going to do a lot of damage to small towns before if hits Victoria.
Where i live in central vic, the little creeks & rivers are stating there own little floods & a few roads are getting closed with the water spilling over the roads & railway crossings, we have had 5 days of continuous rain , at long last the rain has stopped as it was starting to look bad for our town & district if we got another 100 mils today!
the sun is shinning & the water is flowing good now in the storm water drains to clear the township.

[Smoke Pursuit]

Originally Posted by 4Vman

If i didnt have so much to look after here and i had another week off id be on a plane up there to help... makes you want to pitch in and do your bit to help.

I want to help but Im waiting for things to die down a bit, maybe sunday ill contact someone about volunteer work.

I for one wont be going into water, regardless and ill be wearing boots / jeans. Theres going to be some very sick people / kids around the way things are going.

I would prefer to go help in Toowoomba or Warwick as they have somewhat been forgotten about.

[Scott]

So I figure there's lots of people, in lots of homes, in lots of streets clearing mud, crap and water out of their places. What are they doing about getting a good meal in their bellies?

I might head down to the local butcher tonight, load the ute with a BBQ, snags, bread, sauce and water and go stage a fry up somewhere after I drop my wife at the airport tomorrow.

The plan is simple... knowing where to head to hit the most people is less so.

Any good suggestions would be welcomed.

[Peuty]

Great idea Scott. If you do, I'll be happy to share the cost with you and come along to help out.

Unsure of locations, though.....

[Peuty]

Actually, I think the Rosalie area might be the best way to go?

[Corzza]

Been watching on TV a lot of dedicated residents helping out complete strangers!

This is awesome guys!!

[Smoke Pursuit]

Originally Posted by Scott

So I figure there's lots of people, in lots of homes, in lots of streets clearing mud, crap and water out of their places. What are they doing about getting a good meal in their bellies?

I might head down to the local butcher tonight, load the ute with a BBQ, snags, bread, sauce and water and go stage a fry up somewhere after I drop my wife at the airport tomorrow.

The plan is simple... knowing where to head to hit the most people is less so.

Any good suggestions would be welcomed.

I will help cover costs to, in fact what time are you planning on doing it. If you get the meat ill get $150 worth of coke, lemonade and water and bring some eskis / ice.

[Scott]

Great Dan & Brent, sounds like we could get a good thing going.

I've got to get the wife and baby to the airport tomorrow which will have me tied up until 12:15/30pm.

If I/we were organised, we could be in place and cooking at 1pm I would think? Just right for lunch, though I'd imagine anytime would be a good time.

Rosalie seems like a likely spot??

[Smoke Pursuit]

Originally Posted by Scott

Great Dan & Brent, sounds like we could get a good thing going.

I've got to get the wife and baby to the airport tomorrow which will have me tied up until 12:15/30pm.

If I/we were organised, we could be in place and cooking at 1pm I would think? Just right for lunch, though I'd imagine anytime would be a good time.

Rosalie seems like a likely spot??

Sounds good to me mate. Ill pm you my mobile number later when im finished work.. We need to get some of that self drying handwash stuff too for people, which im happy to get?? cant think of what its called.

[galaxy xr8]

Originally Posted by Corzza

Been watching on TV a lot of dedicated residents helping out complete strangers!

This is awesome guys!!

It really is truely amazing and shows the generosity of some people, to help out like this make's you feel proud to be an Aussie.
I just feel that those 10 people allready caught for looting should be made to go and help and each and everyone one of them should have a broom in hand and gumboot's on.

[Scott]

Originally Posted by DASH GT

We need to get some of that self drying handwash stuff too for people, which im happy to get?? cant think of what its called.

Good plan, anti bacterial handwash - alcohol drying is the stuff.

[Smoke Pursuit]

Originally Posted by Scott

Good plan, anti bacterial handwash - alcohol drying is the stuff.

ill get it this arvo...

[FTE72]

Originally Posted by Scott

So I figure there's lots of people, in lots of homes, in lots of streets clearing mud, crap and water out of their places. What are they doing about getting a good meal in their bellies?

I might head down to the local butcher tonight, load the ute with a BBQ, snags, bread, sauce and water and go stage a fry up somewhere after I drop my wife at the airport tomorrow.

The plan is simple... knowing where to head to hit the most people is less so.

Any good suggestions would be welcomed.

That is awesome! I am on cleanup duties this weekend anyway, but this is a great idea and I would love to contribute some $ to help cover your costs if you would accept?

[turboxf]

Originally Posted by Scott

So I figure there's lots of people, in lots of homes, in lots of streets clearing mud, crap and water out of their places. What are they doing about getting a good meal in their bellies?

I might head down to the local butcher tonight, load the ute with a BBQ, snags, bread, sauce and water and go stage a fry up somewhere after I drop my wife at the airport tomorrow.

The plan is simple... knowing where to head to hit the most people is less so.

Any good suggestions would be welcomed.

arn't the non for profit groups going around feeding the workers & volunteers????????
or is that only if your registered & been asigned houses??????????

great idea when you do it tomorrow, but isn't there going to be showers again in Brisbane tomorrow????? make sure you are under cover!

[Scott]

Originally Posted by turboxf

arn't the non for profit groups going around feeding the workers & volunteers????????
or is that only if your registered & been asigned houses??????????

great idea when you do it tomorrow, but isn't there going to be showers again in Brisbane tomorrow????? make sure you are under cover!

No idea? Was thinking of home-owners and their mates less so than organised volunteers, not that I'd be any less happy to help them too.

I have cover for the ute in the shape of a pop-up 3x3 gazebo which I can string a tarp over if it really got wet.....

To be absolutely honest, when the idea popped into my head I posted it so haven't got a refined plan at all.

Dash GT has jumped on board as well as offers of help from Peuty, Dazzler & FTE72.

At this stage all I can imagine is finding a park/driveway/street/carpark, turning on the BBQ and seeing who turns up...

[Road Games]

Yep i reckon we wing it depending on the weather , i have a couple of eskys still i will pack with ice for the left over meat or some soft drinks..

Gonna be busy for you Scott , ring me after lunch if the route is decided and i will drive up from here..

[Smoke Pursuit]

Do we need to register with someone so we dont get into trouble??