After The Flood: Assessing Your Flooded Home

07 Aug After The Flood: Assessing Your Flooded Home

The flash flood in New Orleans on August 5th spurred various accounts of property damage all throughout the city. Residents watched as their homes, businesses, and cars received, in some cases, a few feet of water. If your car was inflicted with water damage, check out our other blogs for more information on how to assess the damage and potentially save your vehicle. Some New Orleans residents were incredibly unlucky and experienced flooding in their home. Here’s what you should do if you have flood damage in your home:

1. Use a wet-dry shop vacuum or pump to remove standing water. Wear rubber boots if you have to stand in a wet area.
2. Open all doors and windows. Set up fans to blow air outside the home. If your vents were exposed to floodwater, wait to turn your air conditioning unit back on until you have the ducts inspected by a professional.
3. Remove and throw away flood damaged carpet and padding.
4. Tear out and dispose of drywall and insulation affected by the flood.
5. If mold is found, contact a professional cleaning company to have it removed.
6. Keep up with the news to see if the government declares an emergency.

If your house didn’t flood, you may still need flood insurance. Flood insurance is enormously vital and important in the south. Floods are the nation’s most common and costly natural disasters and cause millions of dollars in damage every year. Homeowner’s and renter’s insurance does not typically cover flood damage. Floods can happen anywhere with more than 20 percent of flood claims coming from properties outside the high-risk flood zone. Flood insurance can help you recover regardless of whether or not there is a presidential disaster declaration. This means that those impacted by the flood in New Orleans on Saturday would be protected.