FLOOD03666 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

~,tate Department of Public HEialtr! The State Department of Public Health's first action in connec- tion with the floods involved one of its 48 packaged disaster hospitals. Ironically, the hospital had been set up at Castle Rock on June 16th for a training exercise on how to care for patients in a disaster. A tornado hit the Silver Heights area north of Castle Rock before the hospital had been dismantled for recrating, and one victim of the tornado was treated for lacerations that afternoon. The depal~tment ordered the hospital left up for use, if needed, and 25 persons re- ceived emergency treatment in the facility during the next several days. As soon as the flood waters hit, the department dispatched sanitary engineers, sanitarians, and chemists to assist local health departments in testing and chlorinating water supplies and obtaining safe drinking water. In communities where no organized health services existed, staff members of the state department coordinated salvage and community work, making sure that flood-damaged food, drugs, and bever- age supplies were destroyed; assisting with the chlorination of water supplies; administering typhoid shots, where requested; and providing consultation on rodent and insect control and the disposition of dead animals. The department's bact'lriolLogy laboratory utilized a rapid- testing technique on water samples in order to get municipal water plants back into operation as soon as possible. This method enabled the laboratory to complete tllSts in 18 hours, compared with the four days normally required. The department provided informational material for flood areas em personal health protectiv1l mea sures, including immunization proce- dures, handling and disposal of solid wastes, mosquito and fly control, disinfection of contaminated water wells, salvaging contaminated foods, etc. With the help of insect specialists from the U.S. Public Health Service, the department's staff surveyed the flood areas and made recommendations for emergency ae;c-ial insecticide spJ:aying of some JL40,000 acres to help control a build-up of mosquitoes and avert enceph.' alitis, a disease transmitted by mosquitoes to humans and to horses. Following approval by the governOor, this spraying program was conducted under the supervision of the State Department of Agriculture. An ex- tensive rat extermination program in t.he Arkansas Valley was also undertaken by the public health depart.ment through the U.S. Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife. After the flood waters had subsided, health department engineers conducted on- the- site inspection,s, of sewage f acHi ties in 42 communi- ties and water plant facilities in 37 communitios. Estimated damages to these facilities totaled $4,352,331. i;avinqs and Loan Commissione!: Because of the economic devastation accompanying the floods, three state offices were directly concerned with the ~rograms under their operations -- the Insurance Commissioner, the State Bank Commis- sioner, and the Savings and Loan Commissioner. .. 9 ...