ABSTRACT

Purpose: In March 2019, devastating floods hit the Midwest. Farming communities were especially hard hit. In addition to the loss of homes and buildings, in Nebraska alone there were an estimated $440 million in crop losses and $400 million in cattle losses. Farmers and ranchers began dangerous flood clean-up immediately, in many cases without the proper personal protective equipment and resources needed for a safe recovery.

Methods: The safety and health hazards facing flood ravaged agricultural communities were quickly identified, including mold exposure, damaged grain bins, contaminated wells, chemical spills, animal carcasses, flooded equipment, and mental stress. The Central States Center for Agricultural Safety and Health (CS-CASH), partnering with the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC), MAP International, and the AgriSafe Network began a campaign of education and dissemination of “Safe Flood Recovery Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Kits” and resource materials. A webinar, covering health and safety hazards in the flood-affected regions, was created and became an enduring resource. News articles relating to safe flood recovery were created and sent out to over 300 rural news outlets by UNMC public relations.

Practical Application: CS-CASH and the Center’s partners have created an agricultural flood disaster toolkit as a just-in-time resource for agricultural communities and those providing health care and clean-up assistance to flood victims. Having this resource will not only allow for a more rapid response to flood disasters, it will also serve as a guide for emergency preparedness.

摘要

目的：2019年3月，中西部遭受毁灭性洪水袭击。农业社区受到的打击尤其严重。除了房屋和建筑物的损失外，仅在内布拉斯加州就估计有4.4亿美元的农作物损失和4亿美元的牛损失。农民和牧场主立即开始危险的洪水清理工作，在许多情况下，他们没有适当的个人防护设备和资源来安全恢复。

方法：迅速识别遭受洪水袭击的农业社区面临的安全和健康危害，包括霉菌暴露，受损的谷物仓，污染的井，化学溢出物，动物尸体，淹没的设备和精神压力。中央国家农业安全与健康中心（CS-CASH）与内布拉斯加大学医学中心（MAP），MAP International和AgriSafe网络合作，开展了一场教育和传播“安全洪水恢复个人防护设备（ PPE）套件”和参考资料。建立了一个网络研讨会，内容涉及受洪灾地区的健康和安全隐患，并成为一种持久的资源。联华社公共关系部门撰写了有关安全洪灾恢复的新闻文章，并分发给300多个农村新闻媒体。

实际应用：CS-CASH和该中心的合作伙伴创建了一个农业洪水灾害工具包，作为农业社区以及为洪水灾民提供医疗保健和清理援助的社区的即时资源。拥有此资源不仅可以更快地应对洪灾，而且还可以作为应急准备的指南。