Damage to your property as a result of a flood is one of the most common hazards in the United States. North Carolina, in particular, has suffered hurricanes and storms that have left residents’ homes severely damaged. Even homes that are not on the flood plains are at risk and most insurance policies do not cover damage as a result of the flood.

How to Plan for Flood Damage in Your Home

What Precautions Can You Take?

If your property is situated in an area that has experienced flooding in the past, then you should consider taking extra precautions against future flooding. It is always worth having an emergency kit to hand should such a disaster occur. These kits include essentials such as water purification tablets, blankets, food, lights etc.

If you are building your own home, check first to see if you are building on a floodplain and if so, ensure you raise your property up off the ground enough to avoid flood damage.

Consider putting your furnace, water heater and electric panel on the second floor of your property as these can be costly to repair or replace should disaster strike. You can also consider ‘check valves’ to prevent water from backing up into the drains of your property. If your property has a basement then consider sealing the walls with waterproofing compounds.

Taking the right precautions can help you save hundreds and thousands of dollars in renovation costs in case a natural disaster strikes. For example, if you plan when it comes to your home construction, you will be able to avoid huge losses. Setting up a trench grate will help in draining stormwater effectively. This helps prevent water from piling up, leading to unwanted underground seepages, rusting and rotting.

What Should You Do If Your Property Floods?

During the actual flood, your main concern should be for the health and safety of your family. Flash flooding can be dangerous, and you should move quickly to higher ground as a priority.

In order to secure your property, move important items to the second floor and turn off the water, gas and power supply to your home.

Once it is safe to return home you should contact your insurance company and Basement Waterproofing and Foundation Repair professionals like the experts at this foundation repair in Carbondale IL company. Remember that not all insurance companies have flood damage as part of their standard cover, so you may want to take out a separate policy for this.

Contact a disaster recovery service like Service Restoration who can quickly come out to your home and start drying and cleaning up your property. Companies like this have specialist equipment to remove water and minimize further damage.

What Damage Can Your Home Sustain as a Result of Flooding

Within minutes of flooding, water contamination will begin to spread and furniture and carpeting can be ruined. Within days this is compounded, and fungi will start to appear. Wooden floors may become unsalvageable and paint and wallpaper will start to peel away. All wooden elements will swell and warp, and the mould will start to cause a health hazard for any occupants as well as destroy the integrity of organic materials.

The microbial growth that comes with water damage can take root in just a few days. This is why it is important to enlist the services of professionals to clean up following a flood.

Of course, we all hope that such disasters will never strike, however, with the current trends in climate change, it is always best to prepare for the worst.

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