PSA
As an electrician, it *for real* freaks me out to see you or anyone else walking around barefoot in water when (I am assuming here) the electric is on and so close. So allow me to preach mindfulness and electrical common sense to you guys because I care about you. High rubber boots that don't leak would be a safer choice. Even if your panel is off, it's not safe to be in contact with floodwater. Electric could come from outside your home from your neighbor's house through the water. (in a flood) I know you are OK and everything, but that right there are 3 out of the 3 ingredients needed for a fatal shock, uninsulated people, in water, with electric dangerously close. That looks like a hose under water that could be plugged in to a pump somewhere. That's a possible way electric could be introduced into the water, through the wet hose attached to the wet motor...that doesn't even have to be spinning, that could have current leakage.
There could be a source of minor current leakage under the water, not enough to trip a breaker but plenty enough to interrupt your heart. It doesn't take much current at all at all if you're solidly grounded which you are definitely solidly grounded there. As little as 5 one thousandths of an amp...5 miliamps...at only one volt mind you...can totally hijack your heart rhythm and kill you... if you are solidly grounded with no escape. You had nowhere to go there to unground yourself. There was no jumping off a ladder or anything to disconnect yourself from voltage. You probably would have fallen and that would have been it.
That pic is actually disturbing for me to look at. It certainly looks to me like you could have bought the farm there, if the electric was still on. Promise me you'll get good dry rubber boots and turn the house off...with a 3 foot long DRY wooden stick (if you have to stand in water to de-energize) wearing 'dry inside' rubber boots and some kind of glove, untorn rubber would be nice, if there's ever a next time. People have died standing in water turning off the main breaker with their uninsulated hands, hence the need for a dry unconductive stick, high dry boots and dry gloves.
Plumbers have been shocked to death replacing water meters. The panel is electrically and mechanically bonded via conductor to the metal plumbing on purpose to equalize ground potential to the exact same everywhere in the house. This plumber removed the water meter, and bridged the 2 unconnected pipes with his arms. So he made himself a conductor in the circuit, and his body was the connection between voltage and ground. His body absorbed all the amperage the house was using at the time of shock (typically 10-30 amps) because the return path of
all the electric (when things are working normally) goes through the water pipe to earth, then from earth back to source. All electric does is to go to ground. We direct it through a lightbulb before going to ground. In this case it went through his body to ground. Water meter sockets have since been re-designed so this can't happen, but there are still old ones out there that can kill the unaware.
Even if the main breaker is off, there's still voltage in the box at the main breaker terminals, that can go through the water, or even just a wet spot. And never shut off unless the meter is pulled even if all the breakers are already off. Pulling the meter is definitely the very first thing I would do there. I can't unsee that. Please don't ever do that again or I can't be your friend anymore
It's the kind of pic I see in my Code update classes of what not to do.
I hope the place was de-energized and that glare is the cellphone flash. Please lie to me if necessary so I can sleep tonight.
Actually, do you want to sell the rights to it?
We can photoshop the face.
