1 – Don’t drink floodwater or use it any for any activities – it is dirty and can make you sick. Don’t swim in floodwater – it can be very strong and pull you under. Dangerous objects can be hidden in floodwater that could hurt you or make you fall under the water.
2 – Be aware that snakes are more common after flooding and may be more likely to bite people. Try to stay away from floodwaters. Also avoid debris and other objects that snakes could be hiding under.
3 – If you or your family member drink dirty water you could become sick with diarrhoea. Diarrhoea can be especially bad for children. You can protect yourself and your family from diarrhoea by only drinking water that you know is clean and safe.
4 – Water is safe if you treat it in your house with Aquatabs or if you boil it before drinking, waiting for large bubbles to rise to the water’s surface and then letting it boil for 5 more minutes.
5 – Be sure to keep your safe water in a clean container that is covered. Safe water is the best water.
6 – If you are recovering from an illness, make sure to continue taking the medicine you received at a health facility and follow instructions, such as drinking plenty of clean fluids. If your condition worsens, ask your community health worker for advice.
7 – A disease called Hepatitis E can be especially harmful to pregnant women. Most women can recover from Hepatitis E by immediately getting proper treatment. Some cases can become severe and be fatal for the woman and her baby.
8 – Pregnant women can protect against getting Hepatitis E by making sure they and everyone in their household always: uses a latrine and washes faeces down the hole; washes their hands with soap and water before eating, handling food or feeding their children; and after using the latrine or touching their children’s soiled diapers.
9 – Take a pregnant woman immediately to a health facility, Mobile Medical Team or a community health worker if she has any of these symptoms: bleeding, severe headache, high fever, blurred vision, or abdominal cramping and pain.
10 – If a bad storm occurs, try to find a place that is out of the rains and wind. It is important to have a dry, warm place to rest to stay healthy. Older people and children will feel the cold first, so make sure they have clothing or blankets and can stay dry.
11 – If you are pregnant and will deliver soon, make sure your community health worker knows where you live. It is always safer to deliver your baby in a health facility. Contact your community health worker for advice.
12 – If you or someone you know gets a cut or other small wound and no health worker or facility is available, wash the wound with soap and safe water and keep it dry and clean.
13 – Stay away from the edges of rivers, streams, hills or cliffs – these can be dangerous places that can collapse without warning. Advise children not to go to or near these places.
14 – If you or your family members eat dirty food you could become sick with diarrhoea. You can protect yourself and your family from getting diarrhoea through dirty food by: washing your hands with soap and water after using the latrine and before handling food; cleaning fruits and vegetables in safe water; and peeling and cooking vegetables whenever possible. Cover food to protect it from insects and rats, which could contaminate it. Safe food is the best food.
15 – Diarrhoea can be a serious illness, especially for children and older people, if it is not treated. You have diarrhoea when you pass three watery faeces in one day. Diarrhoea drains water from the body and can cause death. As soon as diarrhoea starts, give extra fluids along with regular food to the sick person. Go to a community health worker or the nearest health facility if a child has had diarrhoea for more than 24 hours or an adult for more than three days.
16 – Diarrhoea and many other illnesses are spread when sewage gets into water sources, and when people get germs from faeces on their hands. Keep yourself and your family safe from illnesses spread through faeces by always using a latrine and washing faeces down the hole. If you cannot use a latrine, do not defecate near water sources and immediately bury your faeces.
17 – Some people become sick after being bitten by mosquitoes that carry the malaria or dengue illnesses. You can protect yourself and your family from these diseases by: putting lids on all containers of water inside and outside your home; identifying and eliminating places where rain water has collected (for example, old tires and empty cement sacks); staying away from ponds, rivers and other bodies of water at dawn and dusk; and sleeping under mosquito netting if it is available.
18 – Before a cyclone or a heavy rain occurs, protect your medications by putting them in a plastic bag and closing the bag’s opening as tightly as possible. Put the bag somewhere high in your house and where you easily can grab it in case flooding occurs. During bad weather, you should continue to take the medications according to the instructions you got from the health facility.
19 – It is important to clean your hands, including the skin under your nails, with soap and safe water. Trim nails regularly using only nail clippers.
20 [ONLY for use by mobile medical teams] – We are a mobile medical team that has come to help you in this emergency. We can provide: urgent medical care and referral to hospital for people who are seriously injured; first-aid for people who have injuries; treatment for people who are sick; delivery assistance for pregnant women; and psychological first aid.
21 [ONLY for use by mobile medical teams] – This emergency medical facility is meant to provide health care to the more serious injuries, illnesses and other health conditions made worse by the storm. If you or someone in your household has suffered a minor injury and you are not sure what to do, please ask your local community health worker or a community mobiliser.
22 – To find a Mobile Medical Team, look for the white and red flag with a picture of a nurse and two red bars on either side.
23 – For pregnant women who need an emergency delivery, the mobile medical team can help the woman give birth. Look for the white and red flag with the drawing of a nurse for medical care.
24 – If someone has been seriously hurt in this bad weather and is unconscious, the mobile medical team can help try to revive and stabilize the person and assist in referring him or her to an appropriate health facility.
25 – In severe storms, high winds and heavy rains can cause parts of trees, buildings and other objects to fall and hit people. If this happens to you or someone you know and the wounds are not too serious, wash the wounds if possible with clean water and soap. Cover wounds with clean thin material. If blood is flowing from a wound, apply pressure on it by wrapping it in a piece of cloth or whatever is available. Ask someone nearby to find help.
