The meteorologist on your local news just gave the forecast of heavy thunderstorms along with a flash flood warning for your area. That doesn’t sound good at all.
But try as you might prepare yourself for this bout of adverse weather, you might not have done enough to be able to stop your home from flooding. Imagine losing everything on your first floor to water invading your home. Floods are natural disasters that damage property and cause economic losses. Oftentimes, water damage is not covered by insurance companies. Having a public insurance adjuster on your side will make the claims process smoother after your property has been flooded.
According to the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), flooding is the most frequent and costliest natural disaster in the country.
Despite this ever-present danger, there are some ways you can try to prevent such a travesty. Here are four flood prevention methods you should know so you might save your house from flooding.
1. Check Your Electrical and Systems
Important instruments in your home like circuit breakers, switches, wiring, and other things that deal with climate and electrical systems should be checked regularly.
Sometimes flooding doesn’t come from the natural elements outside, it can also come from malfunctions and irregularities from inside your home.
Even things like sockets, water heaters, and furnaces should sit above the flood level of your home.
2. Seal Cracks and Apply Sealants
Water can seep in from literally anywhere there is a crack in your foundation. So you will want to try and seal any real or perceived cracks in your house’s walls, floors, crevices, and crawl spaces.
However, if water leakage is a continuous problem, you might want to further investigate the issue.
3. Consider a Change in Landscape
No, you won’t have to build a moat for your home, but looking into landscaping for water runoff could be the difference between a dry home or a flooded one.
You can apply certain topsoils that will aid in water absorption, opt for gravel driveways instead of asphalt, and add retention/runoff barrels underneath gutters to aid the runoff as well as reduce pollution into local water supplies.
In particular, the barrels will help in basement flooding, and depending on your preference can act as a water supplement for other outdoor activities like gardening.
4. Buy Flood Insurance
Buying private flood insurance should be paired with every other preventative measure. After all, none of these solutions are foolproof, and no matter how much preparation you do, sometimes the elements win.
In the event of a flood, you want to make sure your belongings are all covered by your insurance. You want to do your due diligence in choosing flood insurance, and choose the best one to fit your needs.
Flood Prevention Methods to Save Your Home
There are some other flood prevention methods you can try to give your home that extra amount of flood protection. However, find what works best for both your home and your wallet.
Don’t let the floodwaters ruin your home and your things within it, flood-proof your home and when the rains come, you can ride the wave.
For other interesting and informative articles like this one about how to better your home, be sure to browse the rest of our blog.