Emergency Sanitation and Hygiene

While many people are familiar with emergency food and water storage, and may even
understand the importance of having alternative lighting and heat, considerably less people want
to think about a more unsavory topic: hygiene and sanitation during an emergency. However,
besides having food and water staples, knowing the basics of emergency hygiene is possibly the
most important part of anyone’s emergency preparations.
Without hygiene and sanitation, it won’t matter how prepared one’s shelter is, or how
comprehensive their emergency communications are; it won’t matter because if people are sick,
they won’t be able to make good use out of these items anyway.
Food storage, similarly, becomes almost useless in the face of disease and infection. If people get
dysentery or malaria, they will be too sick to even want to eat, much less be able to digest any
nutrients.
As anyone who has experienced them knows, natural disasters and other emergencies can strike
at any time; often, they come when it is least convenient and when people feel the least prepared.
And while experts can predict the path of, say, a hurricane, they cannot know for certain where it
will go and how strong it will be once it gets there. Or in the case of earthquakes: scientists can
warn people that an earthquake is imminent, but they can’t say exactly when, or exactly how
severe.
Besides, the greatest damage is never done right when the disaster occurs—it is in the aftermath
of these natural disasters that the true emergencies lie. Injury, illness, infection, and other risky
behaviors all contribute more to the casualty toll than the actual storm. And all of these things
happen because in one way or another, people are not prepared.
This all paints a very grim picture of the natural disasters to come; but there is a solution, and it
is easy to come by. People just need to face the dangers that they and their area face, and prepare
for every possibility. This is especially true when it comes to emergency sanitation and hygiene.
It’s actually very easy to get the supplies for a disaster when it comes to this aspect of emergency
preparedness; all people have to do is put a little thought into it.
One of the most important aspects
i of sanitation is waste, which is the predominant cause of
disease after an emergency . This problem can be solved through purchasing either a sanitation
kit, or assembling one individually. Sanitation kits should include the following materials to be
complete: heavy-duty plastic garbage bags and ties, toilet paper, soap, hand sanitizer, a medium-
sized plastic bucket with tight lid, toothbrushes, disinfecting
ii chemicals, a comb, a razor, a mirror,
and any other common toiletries and feminine supplies .
The medium-sized plastic bucket will serve either as a trash can or a makeshift toilet, depending
on the situation. Unless the house is a danger, actual toilet bowls can be used, though in an
emergency waste cannot be flushed. Much of the time, plumbing will be down thanks to broken
water mains or sewer lines; and besides that, in a serious disaster, emergency iii officials will need
all the water they can get for fires, cleaning, and treating wounded citizens .
In order to use the toilet in an emergency, people should first drain the water, then put a heavy-
duty plastic garbage bag in the bowl. In that bag, people should pour either the recommended
amount of any portable potty chemicals (as specified on the bag or container), or they can make
their own disinfectant. To do this, mix iv one cup of liquid chlorine bleach to one-half gallon of
water and pour it into the plastic bag . This will disinfect the waste and cover the smell. (As a
side note, do not use dry or powdered bleach for this since it’s caustic and isn’t safe for this type
of use.)
If people cannot use their toilet because of safety issues, then a five or six gallon plastic tub can
be used, using the same plastic bags and chemicals. If this is necessary, then having a portable lid
for this tub will be helpful in keeping a sense of normalcy and keeping people from becoming
too stressed.
While knowing what to do with waste is perhaps the most important aspect of emergency
hygiene and sanitation, there are still many facets to this topic that people should consider; for
example, what to do with ordinary garbage. Since during an emergency, it is highly unlikely that
garbage disposal services will be running, people should instead bury any biodegradable waste at
LEAST two feet deep to prevent the spread of insects and rodents, as well as to discourage other
animals from digging up the waste.
As for any other wastes that will not breakdown, people should store that in heavy-duty garbage
bags that can be completely tied at the top. If possible, these bags should be stored outside the
home, again to prevent the spread of disease. Once the emergency is over, officials will tell
people what to do with these bags of garbage.
There are dozens of other small things that people can do to keep themselves and their families
safe and disease free during an emergency. One of the most important and least-thought about
things is constant hand-washing. This is important during regular circumstances, but during a
disaster, it should become a top priority.
Wash and disinfect hands before preparing or eating food, after going to the bathroom, after
changing diapers or caring for someone who is sick, after handling anything that couldvbe
infected or germ-ridden, and before treating any cuts or wounds, no matter how minor . When
hands are visibly dirty, they should be washed with soap, even if people are diligent about using
alcohol-based hand sanitizer. If soap or water isn’t available, keep using the sanitizer
consistently.
Finally, people cannot just take care of their own bodies and forget to clean what they are putting
into them: namely, food and water. Make sure that any food has been washed or that it was
sterile to begin with. If the power is out, keep the refrigerator and freezer closed as much as
possible, and after no more than 12 hours, eat any food that might soon go bad so it won’t spoil
the other foods that can last longer.
Water is a special challenge, since many households may not have running water during and
after an emergency, and people must drink water often to avoid illness. Water is also often
contaminated thanks to broken pipes underground, so even if the water is running, it may not be
safe to drink. Before consuming any water in an emergency, be sure to filter or purify it first.
There are a number of ways to do this, including bleach, purification tablets, and iodine.
Although sanitation and hygiene are sometimes unpleasant topics to dwell on, people must think
about them if they want to get through a disaster disease-free. If they follow the above
instructions, as well as following their regular sanitation routine (i.e. face-washing, tooth-
brushing, and bathing regularly) as much as possible, then they shouldn’t have any trouble
staying clean during an emergency.

i http://www.preparedness.com/saandhyduem.html/. Preparedness.com webpage:

Sanitation and Hygiene During an Emergency
ii http://www.fema.gov/areyouready/appendix_b.shtm. FEMA article: Are You Ready?
Appendix B: Disaster Supplies Checklists
iii http://www.nationalterroralert.com/sanitationhygiene/. National Terror Alert article:
Sanitation and Hygiene in an Emergency
iv http://gilescounty.org/pdf's/Community_Version.pdf/. Giles County article: Be Aware, Be
Informed, Be Prepared: A Reference Manual
v http://www.bt.cdc.gov/disasters/handhygienefacts.asp/. Center for Disease Control and
Prevention webpage: Clean Hands Save Lives: Emergency Situations