Avoid Flood Damage by Preparing Your Home and Family for Winter

Preparing for a flood could save you a lot of trouble. Every year, hundreds of thousands of homes suffer losses due to flooding. A little preparation can eliminate some causes of flooding, and prepare your home in case of circumstances beyond your control.

To plan for a flood, first check your risk from rivers or the sea, surface water, or reservoirs. Normally you’ll receive a slight warning in case of flood, unless it is a “flash flood”. By being prepared, you can weather the storm and keep most of your belongings intact.

Get to know the warnings and codes for flood, sign up for early warning systems on your phone if available, have an emergency kit ready to go, and create a personal flood plan. You may also wish to look into additional flood insurance, and take precautions like keeping valuables up off the floor in basements and lower levels of the house, raising sockets, electric devices and other items 1.5 meters above floor level, and using water resistant materials in areas prone to flood.

To help prevent flooding, you can install anti-flooding devices and pumps, stock up on sandbags to divert flood waters, and wrap all pipes to prevent breakage and leaking during cold snaps or hard freezes. (The most common reason for non-weather related flooding is broken pipes!)

If a flood is in the forecast, do some preparation. Know where the turnoff is for your home’s electricity, water and gas, so you can do it safely. After the flood, if water was deep enough to reach the turnoff boxes, have a technician look those over before attempting to turn them back on.

Have a suitcase packed that includes cash, bank cards, insurance information and phone numbers as well as an extra phone. Pack medications, medical devices, batteries, contact lenses and glasses. If you have a small child, make sure you have a fully loaded diaper bag. Have a change of clothing for each family member, extra dry socks, and toothbrushes.

If, despite your efforts, your home should flood, follow these steps:

• Get yourself, your family and your pets to safety
• Call your insurance company
• Call “the dry guys” at (262) 605-1290

Flood Damage? Call The Dry Guys!

After the flood, our expert flood team can help you restore your home. We’ll work with your insurance company to get everything back to normal, with our full service flood restoration services.