This is taken from the EPA video, Midwest Floods of 1997. Over one million people were forced from their homes in the Midwest as a result of flooding in 1997. The floods had dislodged propane tanks and drums containing hazardous chemicals, depositing them downstream under piles of debris. Gasoline storage tanks rose to the surface of the saturated ground. Water had also poured into home heating oil tanks, rendering the contents useless. The U.S. EPA responded as part of an inter-agency effort that included the U.S. Coast Guard National Strike Force, federal, state, and local agencies, and their contractors. EPA site responders oversaw the collection, identification, and disposal of hazardous materials ranging from thousand-gallon quantities of petroleum products to individual cans of spray paint.
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