A Story From the Field: The Hall Everyone Relies On, That Nobody Looks After

Prasert is the elected village headman of a small community in Bang Rakam district, Phitsanulok province. His village sits on low, flat land where floodwater spreads across the fields almost every year at the end of the rainy season. The large community hall in the center of the village is much more than a meeting room. Every time the water comes, it becomes the place where donations are received, where relief bags are handed out, where volunteers cook in a shared kitchen for families who cannot use their own, and on some nights where elderly residents sleep when their houses are under water.

In 2026 the water came faster and higher than many expected. The hall floor, which had stayed dry in some previous years, sat under knee-deep water for several days. Villagers had to move the relief distribution point onto a raised road. When the water finally receded, Prasert walked back into the hall with the village committee. Sleeping mats and mattresses stacked in a corner were soaked through and gave off a sour, musty stench. Boxes of donated goods that had not yet been handed out had turned to pulp. In the storeroom they found two dead rats. The lower part of the timber walls carried a long tide line streaked with black mold. The shared toilets were blocked with mud, and the communal kitchen had a film of grease and silt stuck in every corner.

What troubled Prasert most was the pattern. Every year villagers wash the hall together with water and detergent, open the windows to let it dry, and carry on using it. Yet the musty smell never quite goes away. Last year several older residents complained that whenever they came to a meeting they started coughing and felt tight in the chest. One volunteer cook developed an infected foot after wading through floodwater to carry supplies. "The hall is what everyone depends on when the water comes," Prasert said. "But once the water goes, nobody really takes care of the hall."

This year the village committee decided to do things differently. Not just washing the hall until it looks clean, but restoring it so it is genuinely safe, and planning ahead so the hall is ready for the next flood too.

Why Buildings That Flood Every Year Are at Greater Risk

A building that floods once can, with proper restoration, become dry and clean again. A building that floods year after year, like many community halls in the low-lying parts of Bang Rakam, accumulates problems in layers. Moisture sinks deep into timber and concrete. Mold that was never fully dealt with comes back faster each time things get damp. Old mud trapped in floor joints becomes food for bacteria. And the musty smell becomes so familiar that people start to think it is simply how the hall smells.

Health risks

A community hall gathers the most vulnerable people in the village: the elderly, young children, bedridden patients brought by relatives for temporary shelter, and pregnant women. Germs carried by floodwater, such as E. coli, organisms that cause diarrhea, and Leptospira, which causes leptospirosis, can remain on floors, in toilets and in storerooms where rats have been. Airborne mold spores trigger allergies and asthma, especially in older people with weaker lungs. When many people gather in one place, respiratory and skin infections spread more easily. Anyone who develops a high fever, aching calves or a red, swollen wound after wading through floodwater should see a doctor quickly.

Damage to community property

Community halls are built and repaired with public funds or donations. Timber that rots because of mold and repeated dampness means floors, walls and doors have to be replaced much sooner than they should. Sound systems, fans and kitchen equipment stored in damp rooms also wear out quickly, and every replacement is money that could have gone to something else the village needs.

Community confidence

If people feel unwell every time they visit the hall, because of the musty smell, the mold dust or dirty toilets, they will stop coming to meetings and will hesitate to bring elderly relatives to shelter there. That makes the next emergency response harder. A clean, safe hall is the heart of disaster response at village level.

The Same Methods Every Year, and the Same Problems Coming Back

• Washing with water and detergent. The hall looks cleaner, but this does not disinfect thoroughly, and the extra water can soak into timber and floor joints, keeping things damp for longer.
• Pouring strong bleach. Bleach works on smooth surfaces that are already clean, but loses its strength quickly against mud and organic residue. In a closed hall, the fumes irritate volunteers' eyes and lungs.
• Opening the windows and carrying on. Surface moisture drops, but mold inside the timber beneath the floor and behind the walls remains and returns with the next rain.
• Repainting before the next festival. The hall looks lovely on the day of the event, but black mold pushes back through the paint within weeks.
• Keeping wet mats and mattresses. They look dry after a day in the sun, but mold and dust mites can remain inside, releasing spores every time they are rolled out for someone to sleep on.

The Solution: Restore the Hall With Disinfection and Ozone, Then Plan for the Whole Year

World Health Disinfection (WHD) provides disinfection fogging with CHEMGENE HLD4H through ULV foggers that reach under benches, behind the stage, up into the roof structure and throughout storerooms. We combine this with ozone treatment, which tackles mold spores and breaks down the musty odor molecules embedded in timber, curtains and other materials in the building.

How we work with the community

1. Joint survey with the village committee. We walk through every part of the hall: the main room, stage, donation store, shared kitchen, toilets and any temporary first-aid room. We record the water line, mold growth and signs of rats.
2. Clean-up and sorting advice. We recommend discarding mats, mattresses, cardboard and donated food that touched floodwater, shoveling out mud, removing heavy grime and clearing toilet drains. Volunteers should wear rubber boots, rubber gloves and masks, and keep any wounds fully covered.
3. Clearing people and sensitive items. Before work starts there must be no people, pets or plants inside. Usable donations, medicines and food are moved out. The village sound system, loudspeaker amplifiers and computers are covered or removed.
4. ULV disinfection fogging. The disinfectant mist is applied across floors, walls, pillars, benches, toilets, the kitchen and the roof frame.
5. Ozone treatment. Doors and windows are closed as far as possible, generators are sized to the building, and treatment runs for the planned time. Warning signs go up and someone guards the entrance throughout.
6. Ventilation. The building is opened up until the ozone has broken down into oxygen. Our team tells the village when it is safe to use the hall again.
7. Re-check and annual plan. We check odor and mold again and work with the committee on a care plan for before and after next year's flood season.

A Year-Round Care Plan for Halls in Repeat-Flood Areas

For villages in Bang Rakam that already know the water will come most years, thinking ahead makes an enormous difference. The plan below is a guide that community leaders can adapt to their own hall and their own calendar.

Before the flood season. Lift mats, mattresses, blankets and stored donations onto high shelves, or move them to a building on higher ground. Check the roof and drains for leaks and blockages. Prepare lidded plastic boxes for important documents and supplies. Stock protective gear for volunteers: boots, gloves, masks and waterproof dressings.

While the hall is used as a shelter. Separate the sleeping zone, kitchen zone and donation zone clearly. Set up hand-washing points. Clean toilets several times a day, and use the CHEMGENE 750 ml spray on high-touch points such as door handles, stair rails and distribution tables.

Immediately after the water recedes. Discard anything that was soaked, shovel out mud, dry the building, then book disinfection and ozone treatment before reopening the hall for meetings or ceremonies.

One to three months after the flood. Check for new mold weekly at first. If the musty smell returns in the storeroom or under the stage, deal with the source of moisture and arrange a targeted repeat ozone treatment.

Around the village. Puddles around the hall become mosquito breeding sites. Remove containers that hold water, and consider our mosquito spraying service during peak mosquito periods.

Running a Hygienic Shelter: Lessons From Repeat-Flood Villages

Communities that flood every year often become very good at the logistics of emergency relief: collecting boats, organizing volunteers, distributing rice and drinking water. Hygiene inside the shelter sometimes receives less attention simply because everyone is exhausted. A few simple practices can make a big difference to the health of the people staying there.

First, keep the sleeping area as dry and uncluttered as possible. Use mats that can be wiped down rather than cloth bedding where you can, and give each family a defined space so that belongings are not piled together. Air out bedding every day when the weather allows. People who are coughing or feverish should, where possible, sleep a little apart from the elderly and from small children, and should be encouraged to see a health worker.

Second, treat the kitchen as a separate, protected zone. Only volunteers on cooking duty should enter, hands should be washed before handling food, and cooked food should be kept covered. Drinking water must come from a safe source. Floodwater should never be used for washing dishes or preparing food, even if it looks clear.

Third, toilets need the most attention of all. A blocked or dirty toilet in a crowded shelter is one of the fastest ways for diarrheal illness to spread. Assign a rotating team to clean toilets several times a day, keep soap and water available, and report blockages immediately.

Fourth, keep donated goods off the floor and away from walls, and check regularly for signs of rats. Rats are drawn to stored food, and their urine is a key source of leptospirosis. A tidy, raised storage area protects both the donations and the people.

Finally, coordinate with your local health promoting hospital and district health office. They can advise on disease surveillance, supply health information for residents, and help identify people who need medical follow-up. Good shelter hygiene during the flood also makes the post-flood restoration easier, because there is less contamination to deal with afterwards.

Repairing Smarter: Building Choices That Help a Hall Survive the Next Flood

Disinfection and ozone treatment deal with the germs, mold and odors left behind by a flood. But in a village where water returns most years, the way the hall is repaired matters just as much. Every repair is a chance to make the building more resilient, so that the next flood does less damage and recovery is faster and cheaper.

Choose materials that tolerate water. Where the lower part of a wall has rotted, consider replacing it with materials that do not soak up water easily, such as cement board or tiles, rather than plywood or gypsum board. Floors finished with tiles or sealed concrete are much easier to clean and dry than bare timber. Where timber is used, make sure it is properly treated and sealed.

Raise what can be raised. Electrical sockets, switches and the main distribution board should sit well above the usual flood line. Shelving in storerooms can be built higher, with the bottom shelf left empty during the flood season. Kitchen gas cylinders and cookers can be placed on raised platforms that are easy to move.

Help the building breathe. Mold thrives in still, humid air. Adding vents near the roof, louvered windows or a simple exhaust fan helps the hall dry out faster after both floods and ordinary heavy rain. Avoid sealing damp walls behind new paneling, which traps moisture where nobody can see it.

Plan the space for emergencies. If the hall serves as a relief center most years, design it that way. A storeroom with lockable, raised shelving for donations, a kitchen area that can be closed off and cleaned easily, and toilets with good drainage all make the next emergency smoother.

Keep a simple building record. Note the date and height of each flood, what was damaged, what was repaired, and when the hall was disinfected and treated with ozone. Over a few years this record helps the committee justify budget requests to the local administration and shows which improvements actually work.

None of these steps needs to happen all at once. Even one or two improvements each year, combined with prompt professional disinfection after each flood, can turn a hall that suffers every season into one that bounces back quickly and keeps the community safe.

10 Reasons Community Leaders Choose WHD

1. We use CHEMGENE HLD4H for surface disinfection in public buildings.
2. ULV foggers reach under the stage, beneath benches and into the high roof of a community hall.
3. Ozone treatment reduces musty odors that have built up in timber over years.
4. We work alongside the village committee and explain each step so residents understand.
5. We prioritize the safety of vulnerable groups, keep everyone out during treatment and give a clear time for re-entry.
6. We advise on discarding flood-soaked donations, mats and mattresses.
7. We help you build a year-round care plan, not just a one-off clean.
8. We give special attention to shared toilets and the communal kitchen, the highest-risk areas for spreading germs.
9. Ozone dose is controlled, and the village sound system and electronics are covered.
10. We are easy to reach by phone and LINE, and we schedule around village events.

In a Community Leader's Words

"We used to wash the hall ourselves every year and then put up with the musty smell for months. This year we had the team disinfect and run the ozone, and the smell eased a lot. The older folks who come to meetings say it is easier to breathe now. What really helped is that they worked out a plan with us for next year too, so we know what to lift up before the water arrives."
— A village headman in Bang Rakam district (field scenario)

Frequently Asked Questions

Our hall is open-sided. Can ozone treatment still work?
Ozone works best in spaces that can be closed, such as storerooms, the kitchen, toilets and small meeting rooms. Open areas focus on ULV disinfection fogging and thorough drying. Our team assesses the site and recommends which method suits each part.

Can villagers use the hall while you work?
No. Nobody may be inside during fogging or ozone treatment. We put up signs, ask the committee to inform residents, and confirm when it is safe to return.

Donated goods that were still sealed got wet. Can they still be distributed?
Food and medicines that touched floodwater should not be handed out. Household goods in waterproof packaging that are undamaged should be cleaned on the outside and assessed according to advice from your local public health office.

How often should a hall in a repeat-flood area be treated?
At minimum after every flood, with a re-check one to three months later. If mold or odor returns in specific spots, a targeted repeat treatment is recommended.

How is pricing calculated? Can the local administrative organization contact you?
Pricing depends on building size and the level of damage. Villages, local administrative organizations and any agency responsible for the building are welcome to contact us for a survey and quotation.

Can villagers' homes be treated at the same time?
Yes. We can plan a village-wide round, surveying homes and prioritizing those with elderly or sick residents. See residential ozone disinfection.

What should volunteers do if they feel unwell after the clean-up?
Anyone who develops a fever, muscle pain (especially in the calves), diarrhea or an infected wound in the days or weeks after flood clean-up should visit a health facility and mention that they were exposed to floodwater. Early treatment matters, particularly for leptospirosis. This article is not medical advice, so always follow the guidance of health professionals.

Make Your Village Hall a Safe Refuge Again

Community leaders, village committees and local agencies in Bang Rakam and nearby areas of Phitsanulok can contact the WHD team to arrange a survey.

View Our Disinfection Service

Book Ozone Treatment

Call 065-556-6294 · LINE @whd268 · Email worldhealthdisinfection@gmail.com

Related Links

• Residential ozone disinfection
• Dust mite removal service
• Master Ozone Generator
• All articles
• External sources: WHO fact sheet on floods and the Department of Disease Control, Thailand