Records Emergency Information
General Public
Preparing before an emergency strikes can help minimize damage whether from a minor plumbing leak or a catastrophic natural disaster. When an emergency does occur, effective response and recovery actions can help you preserve your personal papers, documents, photographs, objects, and family treasures.
Prepare
Prepare in advance so damage to records can be prevented. When records are damaged, response and recovery techniques will limit damage and allow more records to be saved.
Respond and Recover
Respond as soon as it is safe to enter the area after an emergency and Recover records or cultural property damaged by the emergency.
Water encountered during an emergency may be contaminated. The most common and dangerous contaminants in water are salt, chlorine and sewage. Contaminants, especially sewage, may require special health precautions. Follow advice of your local health officials. Protective gloves/clothing must be worn at all times when handling contaminated materials.
Immediate Response
- American Institute for Conservation (AIC): Emergency: If You’re First
- AIC: Tips for the Care of Water-damaged Family Heirlooms and other Valuables
- Heritage Preservation: Save Your Treasures the Right Way
- Salvage of Flood Damaged Family Papers
- Records Recovery Vendors
Information by Media Type
Paper (unbound documents, maps, drawings, posters)
- What should I do with wet records?
- Emergency Tips for the Care of Water-Damaged Family Heirlooms
- Emergency Salvage of Wet Books and Records
- Paper: Framed or Matted
- Coated Paper
- Cloth or Paper Book Covers
- Scrapbooks
Leather and Parchment
Photographs and Film (prints, negatives, sheets and rolls)
- Saving Photographs After the Flood
- Photographs and Transparencies
- Emergency Salvage of Wet Photographs
- Microfilm and Motion Picture Film
Audio and Video (tapes, disks)
- Damage Mitigation and Recovery, Magnetic Media
- Magnetic Media: Reel-to-Reel Tapes
- Magnetic Media: Computer Diskettes
- Magnetic Tapes: Audio, Video and Data Storage
- Phonographic Disks (vinyl, shellac and acetate)
Electronic Media (hard drives, diskettes, CDs)
Artifacts
- Minnesota Historical Society: Paintings on Canvas
- National Park Service: Salvage at a Glance - Textiles
- National Park Service: Salvage at a Glance - Objects
- American Institute for Conservation: Salvaging Water-damaged Textiles
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More information on Adobe Acrobat PDF files is available on our Accessibility page.
Safety First: Never enter an area affected by an emergency until the appropriate authority declares that it is safe.
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