just yesterday, these streets were rivers, now breeding grounds for mold and mildew which can grow just 24 to 48 hours after contact with water. you didn t want to wait? no, no waiting. no time to wait. reporter: we caught up with cindy huber, who wasted no time gutting her home in pearland. we got here and we were like, wow, what do we do? where do we start? reporter: ripping out carpet, furniture and wet sheetrock, not much could be saved. it s messy and can be dangerous work. tonight, the government is urging residents to take precautions during cleanup. experts suggest wearing gloves, a mask and eye protection. and if working in dirt floodwater, keep tetanus shots up to date. and just a reminder of how dirty this water may be. we had a lab test a sample of floodwater from a suburb of houston, and they found high levels of e.coli. tom? that water all around is so toxic. all right, eva. thank you so much. when we come back, the u.s. military sending a message to north k