Having had a little experience with this, I can offer my two cents.
- The smell will be permanently etched in your brain.
- Look out for nastiness that flowed with the water, like oil, gasoline, sludge, etc. I was blown away by how many plastic gas cans and ice chests were displaced by Katrina's surge.
- If you have a water well, SANITIZE it. It isn't hard, and your intestines (and your family's) will thank you. My county offered free testing after the storm. It took two attempts to get a clean test result.
- Your truck is toast. If you had it fully restored before, it is all wiped out now. If it was a project before, it just got worse. I recommend getting a new project, even if your current one is sentimental. Get something off of your flooded one and move it to your new project. In general, after Katrina, insurance companies figured any flooding above a car's wheel bearings resulted in a a total loss of the vehicle. Some bought back their flooded cars for salvage value. I think the money would be better spent on a new project.
- You'll be stumbling over damage for years to come. On a positive note, I saved my lawnmower by removing the spark plug and pulling the cord a few times to flush out the water. Change of fluids, spark plug, and magneto, and it was good for another year...not much more.
- Watch out for wildlife. They'll hide any- and everywhere.
Good luck to you, your neighbors, and the folks in the Atchafalaya River basin.
Bill
