Evaluating Water-Damaged Electrical Equipment

In the aftermath of hurricanes Harvey and Irma, there are too many stories of lives lost and lives changed forever; what becomes important now, is to stay safe during the clean-up process.

The Clean-Up, and Evaluating Water-Damaged Equipment

For all those residents who will be returning home to start the clean-up process, not enough can be said about staying away from standing water and not taking risks. For all the electricians who will be tackling rebuilding efforts, you have a tremendous reponsibility ahead of you, to stay safe yourselves, and to keep your customers safe. NEMA has a publication that serves as a guideline for the safe handling of water-damaged equipment, and also provides information on how to evaluate electrical equipment that has been exposed to water through flooding, hurricanes, and other events involving large quantities of water. It's designed for use by suppliers, installers, inspectors, and users of electrical products.

Evaluating Water-Damaged Electrical Equipment - NEMA

Mike Holt's Comment:
I pray for Texas, for Florida and for those other states and islands that are feeling loss and suffering. God is good; I feel there will be many blessings after all is done.

The Tragedies

We would be remiss if we didn't pay tribute to those who lost their lives in these hurricanes - their families will forever feel the loss. The following are just a few of those tragedies related to electricity in the aftermath of a storm.

Death toll in US climbs to 12 - Irma. ABC News reported today that at least 12 people are dead in the US from Hurricane Irma, as millions of people remain without power. A man in Winter Park, near Orlando, was electrocuted by a downed power line on Monday morning; a person died in Miami-Dade County from carbon monoxide poisoning from improper use of a generator; others died in storm-related accidents. Read the story. At least 37 others died from Irma in the Caribbean, including at least 10 in Cuba.

Man Electrocuted in floodwaters - Harvey. Click 2 Houston reported that In Houston, Texas, 25-year-old Andrew Pasek died when he stepped in the yard, unaware that a landscape light electrified the water. He stumbled and grabbed the lamppost. His family is pleading with first responders, volunteers and residents to be aware of unseen dangers beneath the water. Read the story.

It was just a terrible mistake, accident that shouldn't have happened," said his sister. "They were going to wade in the water, they were only in about knee-deep water and walking through the neighbor's yard because the water was more shallow. He got too close to an electrical wire that was still running hot."

Dead, missing and burned from live cables in the water - Harvey. The Daily Mail reported that two volunteers are dead, two are still missing, and two DailyMail.com journalists have been injured after their boat crashed into submerged power lines in Houston floodwaters. The group lost control of their motorboat, causing it to drift towards fallen power lines. Live cables sent an electric shock through the boat, tossing the seven occupants overboard. Read the story.

For additional information on equipment and storm reconstruction, visit Nema.org