Floods have been all over the news in the past few weeks. In this video from Sept. 4, 2018, it shows the dramatic flooding at Chicago O'Hare airport, which created such chaos that travelers were forced to abandon their cars. In San Antonio, Texas, rainfall beat a 130-year-old daily rainfall record with a deluge of 6.7 inches in two hours. Last week, northwestern Wisconsin suffered horrific flooding, and today, Mother Nature has struck again with the threat of more floods and tornadoes. Tropical Storm Gordon made landfall at the Alabama-Mississippi border just a few hours ago, bringing torrential rain, flash floods, and one death already.

There are several diseases and myriad other health concerns that go hand in hand with freshwater flooding, and no matter where you live there are risks that can cost you your life that have nothing to do with drowning.

Lizzie Bennett, a medical professional and the author of the UK blog Underground Medic, compiled a comprehensive list of flood hazards. This is one to print out in and put in your preparedness binder to have on hand should you ever find the waters rising near your home.

Debris

The floodwaters are likely to be full of debris which can cause injury but it's what's lurking unseen in the water that can cause really cause problems. The power of water is unbelievable. Just a foot depth of fast flowing water can knock an adult of their feet, and less than that will knock over a more infirm individual. That amount of force can carry things along for a considerable distance. What's more, in deeper water there is no way you can know what lies under the water.

Making your way on foot through murky water is really best avoided. Apart from injury, or even getting a foot caught up and not been able to free yourself, the water can host a number of diseases that can sicken or even kill you.

Trees, branches, concrete, vehicles, grocery carts and practically anything else you can imagine will be floating around or hidden beneath the water.

Chemicals

As I said previously the force of moving water is irresistible and it's not only people that are swept away. Chemicals, even when stored properly in non-flood conditions, are likely to get into the water. Some, such as petroleum products are visible as a slick or film on the surface of the water, while others are totally invisible.

Caustic substances, solvents, inks, paints, and anything else you can think of are going to be mixed into the flood waters. Even though they will be massively diluted in such a high volume of liquid, they're still there and will cause major problems if ingested. Some heavier than water toxins will collect in depressions as the floodwaters recede and those puddles, magnets for children, will contain much higher levels of toxins in the residues left behind as the waters evaporate.

Electrical

Power lines, particularly in those areas where electricity cables are supported by wood telephone poles, can be a major hazard. Electricity can arc a considerable distance and lines in standing water can electrify a large area.