What to do if the house is flooded. Flood survivor tips

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Hurricanes, powerful storms and tsunamis in different years caused many people to suffer. "Our Texas" compiled a list of tips from people whose homes were affected by flooding in 2009, 2015 and 2016.

1. Make sure you are safe. Everything else can be restored, you - no.

2. It’s time for a marathon, not a sprint, everything will be much, much slower than you would like. You will have to deal with the federal government, and they work at their own pace.

3. Take lots of pictures. Set the level at which the water was inside and outside the house. You will need to prove to the insurance company that there was a lot of water in the house. Use a stick or ruler to measure how high the water was outside your house.

4. Contact the insurance company immediately and join the queue to call the damage evaluator.

5. Flood insurance will not cover all your expenses, so payment for a hotel or other accommodation will be paid by you.

6. However, keep all your receipts.

7. As soon as possible order a trash can or plastic containers for storage, because these goods are quickly sold out.

8. Once the water level has subsided, start saving what you can. Do what you can do yourself: remove the wet carpet, remove the baseboards and begin to cut off the wet, dry plaster. Cut off extra 60 centimeters from the wet line. The smoother the cut line, the easier it will be later to restore the wall. Put all the trimmings in trash bags and take them out. Save the cut squares of the carpet for the insurance company to confirm the amount of damage. Save lots of samples. Your main goal is to get everything wet out of the house so that the house starts to dry out. Do not worry if you can not tear off the glue from the wooden floor, it will make the workers during the repair.

9. Take photos of any water damage: wet plaster, wet floor, wet furniture, absolutely everything you want to add to your insurance claim will be a document. As for the property, you need to make a document for each individual item: each shirt, a book - each item must be numbered and included in your application. If you enter 20 books into an application, then each of them must be photographed in detail.

10. If rain is expected, then there is no need to take construction debris to where it can be carried away with water, where it can block drainage or create additional difficulties.

11. Be very careful when hiring “expert companies” that will advise you to quickly dry the house with additional fans. If the walls are open, all supports will dry in time. Every dollar you spend on expensive fans can be later used on the expensive granite covering of your kitchen, which you have to rebuild. Home fans, air conditioning and a dehumidifier from Home Depot will do the trick. You can sprinkle the wooden supports with bleach so that they dry out more quickly. By doing all this, we saved 10 thousands of dollars in each of the three floods we experienced.

12. Be careful when hiring repair workers — check their recommendations, make sure they involve subcontractors they know. They will all be busy, so be prepared to wait long.

13. Plastic containers for the safety of your property are much better than cardboard boxes.

14. Be polite to the appraiser — he or she will assess the damage you have incurred and allocate funds for recovery — every dollar will matter. Try to have the appraiser keep a good impression of you.

15. It doesn’t matter what your insurance company is, all the claims of flood victims go through the federal government, all the money comes from FEMA, so the time between the appraiser visiting your house and receiving the money takes weeks and months. Be patient, you are dealing with the government, which is considering all other applications.

16. Probably the first estimate will be less than what you expect. Therefore, work with the contractor, submit an additional assessment of the damage that was initially omitted. Be cautious when working with additional independent appraisers, as they will take a certain percentage of the amount due to you.

17. Accept the help you are offered. If someone asks how you can help, talk about specific things. For example, you need candles, garbage bags, sandwiches, and so on. Be grateful to those who want to help, and honestly say what you need.

18. You will survive this trouble. It is not easy, but you will survive it. Rely on your destiny, count on friends and family.

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