Dealing with Disasters

While the nation’s galleries, museums and other collections houses have in place disaster response plans, most owners of cultural heritage will have neither disaster recovery plans nor have knowledge of how to deal with damaged cultural heritage after a disaster.  The notes which follow may offer some assistance to those who require help or advice in this matter.

In the first instance after a disaster, if possible, owners of damaged items of cultural heritage should contact a conservator (see ‘Find a Conservator’ in the section, ‘What is Conservation?’) to obtain advice on what action should be taken to preserve the items.  If it is not possible to immediately contact a conservator, there are actions which can be taken by the owners to begin basic safe treatment of damaged items.  The type of treatment one will be able to provide will obviously be determined by the extent of damage.  In very severe damage very little can be done without the services of a conservator.

Cultural heritage which has been damaged in a fire generally are harder to treat than heritage damaged in floods.  However, there is no reason to become despondent as conservators have managed to do some amazing recovery work on items damaged in fires.  As prevention is better than cure, it is recommended that disaster proofing plans be initiated.  This includes:

• The first priority is to diminish the effects of disasters, especially floods, in the home.  Items of cultural heritage should be stored in areas where risks of potential damage are reduced.  For example, items should not be stored near water pipes,air conditioning cooling and heating ducts, leaks in roofs and ducts and storage should be well above floor height.  Isolate storage areas from flood or fire zones.
• Items of real value should be stored in easily accessible areas to make removal easy in the time of urgent evacuation.
• Create a priority list of which valuable items should be the first to be removed if evacuation is imminent.

After a disaster, recovery action must be initiated.  The recommendations below are ones which can be implemented by the owners or the custodians of the cultural heritage.  However, these initial actions should be followed up by seeking advice from preservation experts such as conservators.