W25 - "Natural Disaster Handling" SOP

This week my home suffered a “water disaster.” An aging kitchen shutoff valve ruptured while no one was home on a weekday, and water poured down from the sixth floor like a small waterfall, drawing a crowd. It was my first time handling a “natural disaster” at home; the response process has some general applicability, so I summarized an SOP for future use.

1. Align information. After confirming the incident, first create a group chat with all relevant parties to share progress in real time so everyone can contribute. This should include, but is not limited to, family members, the street office, the neighborhood committee, the landlord, and the agent.

2. The first countermeasure is to stop the hazard from continuing as much as possible—e.g., shut off the building’s main water valve.

3. Prevent secondary disasters, such as cutting power and gas. This step is easily overlooked; while rushing to deal with the water damage, the worst outcome might not be drowning but electrocution.

4. Minimize economic loss. Once the immediate hazard is contained, focus on limiting financial damage. When you go to the scene, record video evidence from the start, because it will be needed later for liability and compensation claims. In particular, if neighboring units suffer damage, you’ll need to determine whether it was caused by personal misuse or natural deterioration of the plumbing.

5. Handle the site. Yes—only at step five do you start cleaning up on site, and this is the least technically demanding step.

6. Repair all similar vulnerabilities. After dealing with the immediate scene, repair not only the valve that caused the accident but also inspect and fix any other aging valves in the home.

7. Settle aftercare and compensation matters. This may be the most painful step. I checked the downstairs neighbor’s apartment and it was worse damaged—because our water overflowed, theirs was more like rain. If it’s your fault, be prepared to cover excess water bills, repair costs, and compensation.

If there’s a TODO from this COE, it’s the lack of monitoring—observability is poor. Many residences have fire alarms but not water alarms. In this situation the only way to detect a water incident and trigger a manual alarm is waiting until water flows out the door. If the building is lower quality that can actually help—water can leak out, ideally through a small hole. So when water incidents occur, household outcomes usually fall into two categories: manageable with limited damage, or catastrophic flooding. Like Schrödinger’s cat, you only know when you open the door. Fortunately our building is lower quality, so we were in the former category.