After a hurricane passes, the immediate aftermath is often more dangerous than the storm itself. Downed power lines, contaminated floodwater, gas leaks, and structural damage create hazards that injure thousands of people every year during cleanup. Your priorities, in order, are personal safety, documenting damage, preventing further property loss, and beginning cleanup.
Check for Gas Leaks and Electrical Hazards First
Before you do anything else inside your home, smell and listen for gas. A hissing sound or sulfur-like odor means a possible leak from gas lines, propane containers, or even vehicle fuel tanks. If you suspect a leak, leave immediately with the doors open and do not flip any switches or light matches. Call your gas company from outside.
Treat every wire on the ground as live, including cable TV lines. Pools of standing water can carry an electrical charge from submerged outlets, appliances, or downed lines. Don’t wade through flooded areas near your home until you’re confident the power is fully disconnected. If your electrical panel is in a flooded area, contact your utility company to shut off power remotely before you enter.
Stay Out of Floodwater
Floodwater is not just dirty rainwater. It’s a mix of sewage, chemicals, and debris that carries bacteria and parasites capable of causing serious illness. CDC surveillance data shows that exposure to storm-related flooding is associated with a 48% increase in dangerous E. coli infections within one week and a 42% increase in Legionnaires’ disease within two weeks. Cryptosporidiosis cases jump 52% during storm weeks. These are infections that cause severe gastrointestinal illness or pneumonia, and some of the organisms involved resist standard water treatment.
If you have to walk through floodwater, wear rubber boots and waterproof gloves. Any open wound that contacts floodwater should be washed thoroughly with soap and clean water. Watch for signs of infection over the following days: increasing redness, swelling, or fever.
Make Your Water and Food Safe
If your tap water supply may be compromised, don’t drink it, brush your teeth with it, or use it to wash dishes until local authorities confirm it’s safe. To disinfect water yourself, add 6 drops of regular unscented household bleach (8.25% concentration) per gallon of water, stir, and let it stand for 30 minutes. If the water is cloudy or very cold, double the amount. You can also use 8 drops per gallon if your bleach is the older 6% concentration.
For food, the clock starts when the power goes out. A full freezer holds safe temperatures for roughly 48 hours with the door closed. A half-full freezer drops to about 24 hours. Your refrigerator keeps food cold for only about four hours. Once perishable food has been above 40°F for two hours or more, throw it out. When in doubt, toss it. The cost of replacing groceries is far less than the cost of a foodborne illness during a crisis.
Run Generators Outside, Far From Windows
Carbon monoxide from portable generators kills people after every major hurricane. Never run a generator indoors, in a garage, in a carport, or on a porch. Place it outside with at least 3 to 4 feet of clear space on all sides and above it for ventilation, and position it so exhaust points away from windows, doors, and vents. If you start feeling dizzy or nauseated while a generator is running, get to fresh air immediately.
Document Everything Before You Clean Up
Resist the urge to start hauling damaged belongings to the curb before you’ve documented the scene. Your insurance claim depends on thorough evidence, and what you remove now may be impossible to prove later.
Take photos and video of every damaged room, piece of furniture, appliance, and personal item. Shoot from multiple angles. Turn on your phone’s location services so each image is geotagged, which verifies where the damage occurred and can speed up your claim. For appliances and electronics, record serial numbers and model numbers. Create a written inventory of damaged contents, room by room, with estimated values where you can recall them.
Keep every receipt from this point forward. Temporary housing costs, emergency supplies, meals you wouldn’t normally buy, tarps, cleanup materials: all of these may be reimbursable depending on your policy.
File Insurance Claims Quickly
Contact your insurance company as soon as possible, even if you can only provide a preliminary report. Homeowners’ insurance and flood insurance are separate policies with different processes. If you have a National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) policy, you typically have 60 days from the date of loss to submit a formal Proof of Loss document, though FEMA has extended that deadline to 365 days after particularly catastrophic storms like Hurricane Harvey. Don’t count on an extension. File early, because adjusters are overwhelmed after major hurricanes and delays compound quickly.
While you wait for an adjuster, you’re generally expected to take reasonable steps to prevent further damage. That means tarping a damaged roof, boarding up broken windows, or removing items from standing water. Save the receipts for these materials too.
Prevent Mold Within 48 Hours
Mold begins colonizing wet building materials within 48 hours. That window is your most important deadline during cleanup. Get water out of the structure as fast as possible using pumps, wet vacuums, or buckets. Open windows and doors to circulate air. Run fans and dehumidifiers if you have power.
Remove materials that absorbed floodwater and can’t be fully dried: carpet, padding, upholstered furniture, mattresses, and drywall that was submerged. Drywall wicks water upward, so even if the flood line was at two feet, the moisture may have climbed higher inside the wall. Cut damaged drywall at least 12 inches above the visible water line.
For mold that’s already started growing on a small area (under 10 square feet), you can handle it yourself with an N-95 respirator mask, gloves, and goggles. For areas between 10 and 100 square feet, add disposable coveralls and consider a half-face respirator with a HEPA filter. Anything over 100 square feet is a professional job requiring full protective equipment including a full-face respirator.
Sort Debris Into Categories
After a hurricane, local governments typically set up curbside debris pickup, but they need you to sort materials into separate piles. Mixing categories can delay pickup for your entire street. The EPA’s standard categories are:
- Vegetative debris: tree branches, leaves, logs, and yard waste
- Construction debris: drywall, lumber, carpet, furniture, mattresses, roofing materials, plumbing
- Household garbage: discarded food, clothing, packaging, paper
- Household hazardous waste: paints, oils, batteries, pesticides, cleaning supplies, compressed gas canisters
- Large appliances: refrigerators, washers, dryers, air conditioners, stoves, water heaters
- Electronics: televisions, computers, phones, game consoles, chargers
Place debris at the curb but not blocking the street, storm drains, or fire hydrants. Your municipality will announce specific pickup schedules, which often run in multiple passes over weeks or months.
Watch for Delayed Dangers
Some post-hurricane hazards don’t appear immediately. Weakened trees can fall days later, especially once saturated soil begins to shift. Structural damage to your home may not be obvious from the outside. Look for new cracks in walls and foundations, doors that no longer close properly, and sagging ceilings, all of which can indicate shifting that makes a building unsafe.
Emotional exhaustion is a real and common problem after a hurricane. The combination of property loss, disrupted routines, financial stress, and physical labor takes a cumulative toll. FEMA and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) run free disaster distress helplines after major storms. Using them isn’t a sign of weakness. It’s one of the most practical things you can do to get through the weeks ahead.