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Hurricane Florence has come and gone but the risks from power outages, damaged homes and flooding are still very present for some areas. Recovery efforts are underway in North Carolina and other areas hit by Hurricane Florence.
Tom Fargione, deputy federal coordinating officer for the US Federal Emergency Management Agency, is in North Carolina now, and said relief workers are focusing on stabilizing safety and security, food and water, shelter, health care, energy, communications, transportation and hazardous waste in the state.
Addressing those, he said, “is what’s going to quickly result in better care for survivors and everything we can do to immediately reduce suffering.”
For those returning after the storm, just the journey home could be challenging.
“I would like to underscore that if people don’t need to be on the roads they shouldn’t be,” the US Department of Transportation’s Jim Ray said on Monday. “The routes that are available, particularly in the east, we very much want to be available to our first responders and those that are moving equipment in for the rescue part of the mission.”
Here’s guidance from government and emergency management agencies about what to look for when returning home after a hurricane.
Road safety after a storm
Only return home when officials have said it’s safe to do so.
Don’t walk, swim or drive through flood waters. Six inches of fast-moving water can knock a person down, and one foot of moving water can sweep away a vehicle.
Keep out of the water. Flood water can contain debris, downed power lines and germs.
Don’t drive around barricades. Follow posted signs and instructions.
Hurricane cleanup at home
Before entering, check for structural hazards that might make it unsafe to go in the house.
If you’re able to go inside, open doors and windows to increase ventilation. Use fans to blow air out doors or windows.
Return to your home during daylight hours.
To communicate, text instead of calling to allow phone lines to stay open.
Walk carefully around your home’s exterior to check for loose power lines, gas leaks and structural damage.
Don’t go inside building if you smell gas, if floodwaters remain or if the building was damaged by fire.
Beware of snakes, insects and other animals that might have moved to different areas due to floodwater.
When returning to your home, be aware that flood water may contain sewage and other hazards. Keep children and pets away from the affected area until cleanup has been completed.
Remove and discard items that cannot be washed and disinfected, including toys.
Clean all hard surfaces such as flooring, concrete, wood and metal furniture, countertops, appliances, sinks and other plumbing fixtures with hot water and laundry or dish detergent.
Maura Walbourne sits in the front of a canoe as she looks inside her flooded home in Conway, South Carolina, on Sunday, September 23.
Jason Lee/AP
A home in Conway, South Carolina, is inundated by floodwaters on Wednesday, September 26, one week after Hurricane Florence.
Sean Rayford/Getty Images
Taylor James navigates floodwaters in a boat in front of Trinity United Methodist Church in Conway, South Carolina on Wednesday, September 26.
Sean Rayford/Getty Images
Floodwaters from the Neuse River cover part of Kinston, North Carolina, on Monday, September 24.
Ken Blevins/AP
Brian Terry looks at the floodwaters outside his home in Brittons Neck, South Carolina, on Saturday, September 22.
Jason Lee/AP
An officer with the South Carolina State Highway Patrol marks the water level of Highway 22 on Saturday.
Jason Lee/AP
Avery Singleton takes a boat to Pine Grove Baptist Church in Brittons Neck, South Carolina, on Saturday.
Jason Lee/AP
President Donald Trump hands out food at Temple Baptist Church, where food and other supplies were being distributed Wednesday, September 19, as part of Hurricane Florence recovery efforts in New Bern, North Carolina.
Evan Vucci/AP
Trump shakes hands as he visits the New Bern church on Wednesday.
Evan Vucci/AP
A woman in Currie, North Carolina, sits on a damaged road surrounded by floodwaters on Tuesday, September 18.
Alex Wroblewski/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Ronnie Gainey pulls an electric guitar from his flooded home in Darlington, South Carolina.
Jerry Wolford/Perfecta Visuals/Polaris/Newscom
Two people near Wallace, South Carolina, sit on the top of a vehicle that was caught in flooding on Monday, September 17.
Sean Rayford/AP
Rescue personnel help people evacuate a flooded area in Spring Lake, North Carolina.
David Goldman/AP
Floodwaters surround a trailer in Pollocksville, North Carolina, on September 17.
Steve Helber/AP
Pollocksville resident Willie Schubert cradles his dog, Lucky, atop a stranded van as they await help from the US Coast Guard on September 17.
Steve Helber/AP
Floodwaters are seen on North Carolina's Emerald Isle on Sunday, September 16.
Tom Copeland/AP
Chicken farm buildings are inundated with floodwaters near Trenton, North Carolina, on September 16.
Steve Helber/AP
Panicked dogs left caged by their owner are rescued by volunteer Ryan Nichols in Leland, North Carolina, on September 16.
JONATHAN DRAKE/REUTERS
A church is partially submerged in Richlands, North Carolina, on September 16.
Callaghan O'Hare/Getty Images
Coast Guard member Blake Gwinn helps Josephine Horne escape her flooded home in Columbus County, North Carolina, on September 16.
Andrew Nelles/USA TODAY NETWORK
A large tree lies on top of a mobile home in Newport, North Carolina, on September 16.
Robert Willett/AP
John Hendren leads horses to safety after the US Coast Guard helped cut up a fallen tree that had trapped the animals in a flooded field in Lumberton, North Carolina.
Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images
Tony Thompson stands in the wreckage of his mobile home as Florence moved inland over Newport, North Carolina, on September 16.
Robert Willett/Raleigh News & Observer//TNS/Getty Images
A woman and a young girl walk down a flooded road in Pollocksville on September 16.
Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP/Getty Images
Floodwaters inundate parts of Trenton, North Carolina, on September 16.
Steve Helber/AP
Members of the Coast Guard help a stranded motorist in floodwaters in Lumberton, North Carolina, on September 16.
Jason Miczek/Reuters
A man peers from his flooded home in Lumberton on September 16.
Gerry Broome/AP
Members of a search-and-rescue team help an elderly resident onto a bus as they evacuate an assisted living facility in Fayetteville, North Carolina, on Saturday, September 15.
David Goldman/AP
A member of the US Coast Guard checks on homes after Florence hit Newport, North Carolina, on September 15 .
Tom Copeland/AP
A neighbor takes photos of a boat smashed against a car garage near the Neuse River in New Bern on Saturday.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
A truck is submerged in floodwaters in Jacksonville, North Carolina, on Saturday.
Eric Thayer/The New York Times/Redux
Joseph Eudi surveys debris and storm damage at a home in New Bern, North Carolina, on September 15.
Gray Whitley/AP
A woman calls for help at her flooded residence as Florence brought large amounts of rain and floodwaters to Lumberton, North Carolina, on Saturday.
Alex Edelman/AFP/Getty Images
People wait in line to fill gas cans at a gas station that was damaged when Florence hit Wilmington, North Carolina, on Saturday.
Mark Wilson/Getty Images
A baseball field on Mill Creek Road is filled with floodwater after Florence hit Newport, North Carolina, on Saturday.
Tom Copeland/AP
Mike Pollack searches for a drain in the yard of his flooded waterfront home in Wilmington, North Carolina, on Saturday.
Mark Wilson/Getty Images
Floodwaters from Florence inundate the town of Engelhard, North Carolina, on Saturday.
Steve Helber/AP
Ray Baca of Wilmington, North Carolina, checks his phone as he sits on a bench.
Al Drago/UPI/Newscom
A sailboat lifted by storm surge leans against a building at Bridgepointe Marina in New Bern, North Carolina, on Saturday, a day after Florence's landfall.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Kim Adams wades through floodwaters surrounding her home in Southport, North Carolina, on September 15.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Volunteers help rescue three children from a flooded home in James City, North Carolina, on Friday, September 14.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Russ Lewis covers his eyes from wind and sand in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, on September 14.
David Goldman/AP
Volunteers help rescue people from their flooded homes in New Bern on September 14.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Waves crash into the Second Avenue Pier in Myrtle Beach on September 14.
Alex Edelman/AFP/Getty Images
The storm leaves a tree toppled in New Bern on September 14.
Atilgan Ozdil/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
Soldiers from the North Carolina National Guard reinforce a low-lying area with sandbags in Lumberton, North Carolina, on September 14.
Andrew Nelles//The Tennessean/USA Today Network/SIPA
Robert Simmons Jr. and his kitten are rescued from floodwaters in New Bern on September 14.
Andrew Carter/The News & Observer via AP
Teddie Davis checks on one of the New Bern's signature bear statues toppled by the storm on September 14. Another one of the bears, in the background, ended up in the middle of a downtown street.
Chris Seward/AP
Rising waters threaten downtown Washington, North Carolina, as the Pamlico River overruns its banks on September 14.
Michael Candelori/NurPhoto/Sipa
An abandoned van sits on a flooded road near New Bern on September 14.
LOGAN CYRUS/AFP/Getty Images
A boat sits wedged in trees in Oriental, North Carolina, near New Bern, on September 14.
Angie Propst via AP
Members of a Federal Emergency Management Agency team from California search a flooded neighborhood in Fairfield Harbour, North Carolina, on September 14.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Rescue workers attempt to remove a giant tree that fell onto a house in Wilmington, North Carolina, on September 14. Two people died when the tree collapsed -- among the first storm-related deaths due to Hurricane Florence.
Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA/Shutterstock
Electric poles that snapped in half sway from their wires in Wilmington on September 14.
Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA/Shutterstock
Lee Casteen, left, and Try Hinton use a chainsaw to clear a tree blocking a road in Wilmington on September 14.
Victor J. Blue/The New York Times/Redux Pictures
Rescue workers help a woman and her dog from a flooded house in James City on September 14.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Michael Nelson floats in a boat fashioned from a metal tub and fishing floats after the Neuse River flooded September 13 in New Bern.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Powerful winds and waves destroy portions of a boat dock and boardwalk in Atlantic Beach on September 13.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Residents wade through streets flooded by the Neuse River in New Bern on September 13.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Astronaut Alexander Gerst posted this photo on Twitter of Hurricane Florence saying, "It's chilling, even from space." Gerst is aboard the International Space Station.
Alexander Gerst/ESA/Twitter
Evacuees take refuge at Burgaw Middle School in Burgaw, North Carolina, on September 12.
Caitlin Penna/EPA
Marge Brown says goodbye to her father, George Brown, before his evacuation from a health care home in Morehead City, North Carolina, on September 12.
David Goldman/AP
Workers take boats out of the water in Wanchese Harbor in Wanchese, North Carolina, on September 12 as the Outer Banks prepares for Florence.
Gerry Broome/AP
Astronaut Gerst also posted this photo to Twitter on September 12, saying, "Watch out, America! #HurricaneFlorence is so enormous, we could only capture her with a super wide-angle lens from the @Space_Station, 400 km directly above the eye. Get prepared on the East Coast, this is a no-kidding nightmare coming for you."
Alexander Gerst/ESA/Twitter
Jeff Bryant, left, and James Evans board the windows of a business in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, on Tuesday, September 11.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images
People fill sandbags in Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina, on September 11.
Mark Wilson/Getty Images
Both lanes of Interstate 26 flow westbound in North Charleston, South Carolina, toward Columbia as people evacuate inland on September 11.
Mic Smith/AP
Laura Gretch holds Frances, a Chihuahua mix, as she helps unload cats and dogs arriving at the Humane Rescue Alliance in Washington from Norfolk, Virginia, on September 11.
Carolyn Kaster/AP
Veronica Gallardo and Robert Kelly place a plastic tarp over an American flag inside the Casemate Museum at Fort Monroe in Hampton, Virginia, on September 11.
Jonathon Gruenke/The Daily Press/AP
A man eyes a store's bare bread shelves as people stock up on food in Myrtle Beach on September 11.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Chuck Ledford, left, watches cartoons on a phone with his daughter Misty as they seek shelter at Emma B. Trask Middle School in Wilmington, North Carolina, on Tuesday, September 11.
Caitlin Penna/EPA
Scott Fleenor, bottom, and Jeremiah Trendell board over the windows of a business in Myrtle Beach.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images
In pictures: Hurricane Florence and its aftermath
Safe power sources
Don’t use gas-powered generators or burners inside your home or garage.
Carbon monoxide poisoning is one of the leading causes of death after storms in areas dealing with power outages.
Check for gas leaks. If you smell gas or hear a blowing or hissing noise, open a window and leave immediately. Turn off the gas at the outside main valve if you can. Call your gas company from another location.
Electrical power should be shut off until there is no risk of fire, explosions or electrocution. If you smell something burning when the electricity is turned on, even if there’s no visible smoke or fire, mmediately turn off the electricity at the main breaker.
All appliances and other equipment and lighting must be dry before use.
Food and water
Throw away food that may have come in contact with flood or storm water; perishable foods that have not been refrigerated properly due to power outages; and those with an unusual odor, color or texture. When in doubt, throw it out.
Do not use contaminated water to wash dishes, brush your teeth, wash and prepare food, wash your hands, make ice or make baby formula.
In hot weather, stay cool and drink plenty of fluids to prevent heat-related illness.
