This is a concept website · Enquire about this domain

Home electrical safety, a guide by DottoThe switchboard at homeBack to the switchboard

C6Storm & flood

Electricity after a storm or flood: what two regulators say

After a storm or flood, both regulators quoted here say to keep away from fallen powerlines, not to touch a switchboard that has been damaged, and to leave electrical repairs to a licensed electrician. Energy Safe Victoria adds that if water has entered a property, the power should not go back on until the wiring has been tested by a licensed electrician.

General information, quoted from Australian electrical safety regulators. It is not advice about the wiring or equipment in any particular home; the regulator in your state sets the rules that apply to you.

Two regulators, side by side

Triple Zero (000) is “Australia’s main emergency number”, for situations that threaten life or are time critical. Energy Safe Victoria’s flood page says: “For life-threatening emergencies, call 000.”

Some of what each regulator lists, in its own words
StageElectrical Safety Office, QueenslandEnergy Safe Victoria
Before
  • “Install a safety switch and test it regularly.”
  • “Know where to turn off your power, gas and water supply in an emergency.”
  • “Switch off and unplug electrical equipment when a storm approaches.”
  • “Unplug outdoor electrical appliances and store them in a dry area.”
  • “If flooding is predicted, move electrical appliances to high places around your home or property.”
  • Before evacuating for a flood: “Turn off all switches at the main electrical switchboard, including the main switch.”
During
  • “Turn off your power points and unplug electrical equipment if you’ve lost power.”
  • “Don’t use a fixed telephone during a thunderstorm”, because “you can get an electric shock.”
  • “Stay away from powerlines, trees and watercourses.”
  • “Don’t touch the switchboard if it is damaged by the weather. Call a licensed electrician after the storm.”
  • If the power goes: “Switch off and unplug heating and cooking appliances. They could start a fire if the power returns when no one is around.”
  • For “dull or flickering lights, a ‘brown out’, low voltage or partial supply” (during and after a storm): “do not touch the switchboard or anything metal in your home”, “turn off any power points that are easy to access and then unplug your appliances”, then “call your electricity company immediately.”
  • For tingles or shocks from an appliance or water tap: “call your electricity company immediately”, then “get your licensed electrical contractor to check the wiring throughout the property.”
After
  • “Report fallen, low or damaged powerlines to the emergency services or your local electricity distribution entity and stay away from them.”
  • “Stay away from electrical signs, street lights, electrical cables, foil insulation or other conductive material that may be lying around your house.”
  • “Stay away and don’t touch switchboards if they are damaged by water, fire or if lightning is close, and warn others to do the same.”
  • If you find damaged cables, wiring or equipment: “do not turn on the power”, “do not touch the damaged equipment or cable” and “call a licensed electrician to make it safe.”

Its six steps for switching the power back on, in its order:

  1. “Unplug or turn off all electrical appliances and equipment before switching the power back on. This includes circuit breakers, RCDs (or ‘safety switches’) or other switches on your switchboard.”
  2. “Turn on the main power switch.”
  3. “Turn on each circuit breaker one at a time.”
  4. “If you have an RCD, press and hold the test button for five seconds. This will turn the power off. The RCD must operate immediately on pressing the test button.”
  5. “Reset the RCD and press the test button a second time. If the RCD operates correctly and turns off the power, reset it and you can begin switching on electrical equipment.”
  6. “If the RCD fails the testing, turn it off and get it replaced by a licensed electrician.”

The test button guide sets steps 4 to 6 beside other regulators’ advice.

Other states’ regulators publish their own advice; ERAC keeps a list of its member regulators (its list may show older names).

If water reached the house

Energy Safe Victoria, on returning to a property after a flood:

“Only turn your power on at the main electrical switchboard if water has not entered the property.”

“If water has entered your property, do not put the power back on until the property wiring has been tested by a licensed electrician.”

“If any appliances have been inundated, do not plug them in or switch them on until they have been tested by a licensed electrician.”

Energy Safe Victoria, Floods and energy safety

Queensland’s office covers what happens with the network connection: if a property or its connecting line was damaged, “you may need verification tests on your switchboard, wiring, equipment and appliances to be carried out prior to reconnection”. A licensed electrician does this, and “a certificate of test will ensure your local electricity distribution entity can reconnect your service.”

On water-damaged appliances, Queensland says to “Dispose of or have a licensed electrician repair water-affected electrical items, such as kettles, toasters and televisions”, and to have a licensed electrician check water-damaged hard-wired appliances such as air-conditioning units or stoves before re-use.

How far from fallen powerlines

Pitched-roof houses behind a timber fence, with a steel transmission tower and its lines on the left, under a tall white cloud in a blue sky.
A cloud building over houses and a transmission line. Photo by Arlind Photography on Unsplash

Energy Safe Victoria gives distances, which differ by situation:

  • 8 metres“Stay at least eight metres away from them”, which it puts at “about 2 car lengths”, during a storm. And: “Stay at least 8 metres away from anything a fallen powerline is touching.”
  • 8 to 10 metres“If there are fallen powerlines, stay more than 8 to 10 metres away”, on returning after a flood.
  • 150 metres“If the electricity poles and wires are covered in flood waters, then stay at least 150 metres away and call your electricity distributor to report it.”

“Always treat fallen powerlines as live even when they are broken or damaged.”

Solar panels, batteries and generators

Queensland: “Even if the network supply is turned off, PV systems will continue producing voltages during the day, and batteries may hold charges, so the PV cells, batteries and associated wiring will be still live.” If a system has been damaged, the office says to get a licensed electrical contractor to inspect it before it is re-commissioned. Victoria, after a flood: “do not switch on solar at the mains nor the inverter. The solar system and battery must be inspected by a licensed electrician before it can be re-energised.”

On generators, Queensland says not to connect one through a power point, which “can cause extremely dangerous ‘back-feeding’”, and that a generator change-over switch “must be installed by a licensed electrician.” Energy Safe Victoria: “Never use a portable generator indoors or in enclosed areas as they release carbon monoxide”, which it describes as “a gas you can’t see, smell or taste.”