The tornado that hit El Reno, Oklahoma leaving two dead, 30 hurt and 16 families homeless prompted the state health department to urge injured residents to get tetanus shots.
They were issued on Sunday and Monday and will again on Tuesday at Canadian County Health Department sites in El Reno and Yukon.
Clinic hours are 8 a.m.–11:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. A strike team will also be out on Tuesday to provide tetanus shots to those in the field.
The department also had a long list of health advisories.
The Canadian County Health Department sites are listed below:
100 S. Rock Island Ave.
El Reno, OK 73036
Phone: (405) 262-0042
1023 E Vandament Ave.
Yukon, OK 73099
Phone: (405) 354-4872
Anyone who receives a puncture wound or a wound contaminated with dirt, feces, or saliva, should have a medical provider or health department determine whether a tetanus booster is necessary based on individual records.
Other tips to prevent injury and illness during storm recovery are listed below.
Food Safety
OSDH recommends the following guidelines for refrigerated and frozen foods to citizens or food establishments which have been without power for more than four hours:
- Keep refrigerator and freezer doors closed as much as possible.
- Discard any potentially hazardous foods such as meats, eggs, dairy products and leftovers when the power has been off for more than four hours. When in doubt, throw it out.
- Frozen foods in a freezer can normally be kept up to 48 hours without power. A frozen product that has thawed should not be refrozen—it should be used immediately or thrown away.
- Throw away food that has come in contact with flood or storm water.
- Throw away canned foods that are bulging, opened or damaged.
- Food containers with screw-caps, snap-lids, crimped caps (soda pop bottles), twist caps, flip tops, snap-open, and home canned foods should be discarded if they have come into contact with water or soot because they cannot be disinfected.
- Do not use contaminated water to wash dishes, brush your teeth, wash and prepare food, wash your hands, make ice, or make baby formula.
- Breastfed infants should continue breastfeeding. For formula-fed infants, use ready-to-feed formula if possible. If using ready-to-feed formula is not possible, it is best to use bottled water to prepare powdered or concentrated formula. If bottled water is not available, use boiled water. Use treated water to prepare formula only if you do not have bottled or boiled water.
- Clean feeding bottles and nipples with bottled, boiled, or treated water before each use.
- Contact your doctor if you’re concerned about medications having spoiled.
Water Safety
Residents in rural areas may also be without water during a power outage. If the safety of the water is not known, it is recommended to vigorously boil the water for at least one minute to prevent potential waterborne illnesses. Safe water would include store-bought bottled water, or uninterrupted city water. Untreated water should not be used to prepare foods, wash hands or brush teeth.
Home Safety
Never use generators, grills, camp stoves, or similar devices inside the house, in basements, in garages or near windows. Improper use of such devices can lead to carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning.