Flooded basements - what to do

So a friend of mine received some damage from all the heavy rain that Rhode Island had and her basement was totally flooded. Not that our fair state of New Hampshire didn't see it share of basement floods, but RI really got slammed. She said "why cant you guys be here in RI so you can come and make sure I don't have an electrical fire, cause there was lots of water and I'm really nervous". Well, I'd love to be able to travel to RI to help her out, I can't. I'm not an electrician and my guys would really complain about the commute. Travel time would be BRUTAL! So I gave her a little advice so when her electrician does come to the house she'll know why he's/she's doing what their doing.

Well, what do you know, Easter Sunday at 7:30am in comes an emergency call for flooded basement and coffee pots not working!! First and foremost, if your basement is flooded and there is any chance that receptacles or power sources are underwater DO NOT GO INTO THE BASEMENT! Sometimes breakers don't trip properly, (which is why an electrical panel inspection is a really good idea). There may be energized receptacles or power sources that will really, literally kill you if you step into the water. Secondly, if the standing water poses no electrical threat to you and you enter the basement, listen to whats happening. If there's water on the floor, there may be water hiding in the walls. Humming & sizzling is a warning sign that something is wrong. If you have a disconnect switch at your meter location, turn off the power to the house and contact an electrician. If you do not have a disconnect, DO NOT attempt to de-energize the panel yourself. There may be something brewing that you wouldn't recognize. Call your electrician and have them de-energize the panel and do an inspection of your panel interior.

If your receptacles were flooded, be sure that they are inspected as well. Water corrodes electrical devices and the damage can take time to manifest. Be sure that the wall and insulation behind the wall are dry before re-energizing any ciruits affected by the flooding.

I have posted some pictures of a panel that had gotten wet prior to this last service call so you can all see what corroded panels look like. This is EXTREMELY corroded, if you see any of this in your panel or around any electrical devices, have a qualified electrician inspect and replace if necessary.