How to Protect Heritage Items, Family Collections, and Taonga During Floods

Don't throw it away!

Flooding is not only a threat to homes and communities but also to treasured family collections, artworks, historical documents, photographs, and taonga . These items often hold immense sentimental and cultural value, and many may be irreplaceable. Knowing how to protect these items before, during, and after a flood is essential to safeguarding your family’s heritage and New Zealand’s cultural treasures.

Before a Flood: Prevention and Preparation

To prevent damage to your family’s precious collections and cultural heritage items, follow these steps:

1. Digitize Important Documents and Photographs: One of the best ways to safeguard important family papers, letters, and photographs is to digitize them. Store these digital copies in the cloud or an offsite location. While original items are invaluable, having backups ensures their stories survive.
2. Elevate and Store: If you live in a flood-prone area, store heritage items in waterproof containers and elevate them off the ground. Avoid keeping them in basements or ground-floor rooms, as these areas are more susceptible to flooding.
3. Use Climate-Controlled Storage: Temperature and humidity fluctuations can damage sensitive items like artworks and old documents, so if possible, store them in climate-controlled rooms. Special storage areas with controlled humidity can significantly reduce the risk of mold and water damage.
4. Prepare an Emergency Plan for Taonga: For taonga or valuable cultural objects, it’s crucial to have an emergency plan in place. Ensure that family members know the cultural importance of these items and how to handle them carefully. If possible, pack these items securely with protective wrappings and mark them for priority evacuation.

During a Flood: Immediate Action

1. Move Items to Higher Ground: As soon as a flood warning is issued, move important items to higher floors or a safer location. Ensure that they are placed on shelves, tables, or within sturdy waterproof containers.
2. Avoid Handling Wet Items: Wet artefacts, artworks, and documents are incredibly fragile. If items are already wet, handle them carefully. Avoid rubbing or scrubbing as this can damage delicate surfaces like paper, photos, or textiles.
3. Use Temporary Barriers: If time allows, place sandbags or other barriers around areas of the home where items are stored to prevent floodwater from entering. You may also create makeshift protective coverings for particularly valuable objects using plastic sheeting.

After a Flood: Salvaging Damaged Heritage Items

1. Assess the Damage Carefully: Before you rush to dry items, assess the extent of the damage. Fragile items like photographs, paper, and textiles require specific handling and cannot simply be air-dried.
2. Dry Items Slowly: For paper-based items such as letters, manuscripts, or photographs, air drying is the safest method. Lay the items flat on absorbent paper in a well-ventilated area away from direct sunlight. Do not use heat or fans as they can cause warping.
3. Freeze Wet Documents: If there are too many items to dry immediately, freezing them can halt further damage and buy time. Freezing stops mold growth and further disintegration. Once frozen, items can be defrosted and treated by a conservation professional at a later time.
4. Handle Wet Textiles with Care: Wet fabric becomes fragile. Support the entire item when moving it to avoid tearing. Lay textiles flat on absorbent towels to dry and change the towels frequently to speed up the drying process. In some cases, it may be best to leave the textile wet until it can be assessed by a conservator.
5. Consult with a Conservator: For severely damaged items or culturally significant taonga, contact a professional conservator as soon as possible. They have the tools and knowledge to salvage and restore items that might otherwise be lost.

Protecting Taonga Māori and Cultural Items

For taonga Māori or cultural heritage objects, specific care should be taken to respect the cultural significance of these items. Be mindful of tikanga when handling or storing these items, and consult with iwi or hapū if you are unsure about how to care for them appropriately.

Helpful Resources for Flood Response and Heritage Protection

1. National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA): Offers up-to-date information on emergency protocols during natural disasters, including floods. Visit www.civildefence.govt.nz for more details.
2. New Zealand Conservators of Cultural Materials (NZCCM): Provides resources and advice on how to handle damaged heritage items, as well as contacts for professional conservators. Website: www.nzccm.org.nz
3. Te Papa Tongarewa: Offers valuable guidance for protecting taonga and cultural objects during emergencies. Visit www.tepapa.govt.nz for more advice.
4. Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga: Offers advice for protecting New Zealand’s built heritage and cultural landscapes in the event of natural disasters. Visit www.heritage.org.nz.

Final Thoughts

Floods can be devastating, but with proper preparation and swift action, you can protect and even salvage precious family collections, artworks, documents, and taonga. Understanding how to store, handle, and care for these items before and after flooding ensures they can continue to tell their stories for generations to come.

Give us a bell! Reach out to us if you have any questions! www.artefactpreservation.com

This article was written with the help of ChatGPT.