Severe weather can cause flooding no matter where you live. It is important to be prepared for flooding, and for what preparations you can make to lessen the impact of water damage to your home. Often we get caught unprepared when severe weather hits, and we end up dealing with grisly aftermath and months of cleanup.
Is there anything you can do to mitigate the damage or to be more prepared should flood damage occur? Turns out, there are quite a few ways you can prepare your home for a flood.
In this article, we have provided some information on how to prepare your house for a flood, as well as the most important thing you can do after any flood to guarantee the safety and cleanliness of your home should you find your home impacted.
So let’s dig into how to prepare for a flood!
Make a Plan
Make a plan for your household, including your pets, so that you and your family know what to do, where to go, and what you will need to protect yourselves from flooding. Learn and practice evacuation routes, shelter plans, and flash flood response.
Gather supplies, including non-perishable foods, cleaning supplies, and water for several days, in case you must leave immediately or if services are cut off in your area.
Protect your most important documents by keeping them in a waterproof container and make password-protected digital copies. Protecting the security of all this information is just one way to keep you safe, so move valuables up high or install check valves.
You can also consider installing sump pumps with battery backup systems since flooding is likely to go hand in hand with loss of power. This is particularly crucial if your home is anywhere near a flood plain or you live in an area that experiences flooding often.
Sump pumps can make a real difference during severe flooding, and it is vital to make sure that they will work to pull water out of your home even if the power goes out.
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Update Your Insurance Policy
If you live in an area prone to flooding, purchase or renew a flood insurance policy. If your insurance doesn’t cover flooding, it typically takes 30 days for the new coverage agreement to go into effect. Be sure to buy early before any issues arise.
The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) benefits underwriting if possible as they offer lower rates than individual carrier policies.
Consider a Disaster Recovery Service
If you believe that your home will sustain water damage, seek the help of a disaster recovery service to assist you in the cleanup after the severe weather has passed. It is important to consider water damage to be every bit as serious as fire.
Not only can water damage severely impact both the aesthetic and structural integrity of your home, but the risk of mold and mildew.
Mold has the potential to not only cause irreparable damage to your furnishings, flooring, and walls, it also has the potential to cause severe illness and in some cases death if left unchecked.
A disaster recovery service will have specialized tools and equipment to handle whatever damage the flooding has caused safely and efficiently to keep your household safe.
Conclusion
There you go, exactly what to do to prepare your home and family for severe flooding, as well as our number one tip for recovering from water damage using a disaster recovery service. This wraps up our article on just how to prepare for a flood.
