Dealing With Storm and Water Damage
Everyone who has had to evacuate during a storm is eager to get back to their home and to their belongings to assess the amount of damage done to their property, but being too eager to re-enter the home can be an error that can lead to serious injury or even death. You may forget the proper safety procedures that you need to take before going back inside your home or even back into the neighborhood where you live if there is still standing water on the roads.
Downed power lines pose a serious threat to your safety if they lie across the road, your driveway, or in your yard after a storm has passed. If you see one of these, do not attempt to drive or step over it, especially if there is standing water. You can be electrocuted extremely quickly and there is absolutely no way to tell if a line is electrified just by looking at it. Not even a trained electrician can tell, so do not take your chances. Wait until you are absolutely certain it is safe to return to your neighborhood. The second thing that you need to make sure of is that the electricity to your house is completely turned off. If your neighbors do not have power, you should not assume that your home has none. If you have to, call the electric company and have them switch the power off to your home if you cannot get to the switch to do it yourself.
After you get back inside your home, you should get access to a video camera and record the damage that was done to each room of your home. Note any valuable electronic equipment that may be irreparably damaged due to the storms and if there was any valuable information on something such as a hard drive, try to assess the value of that information, if possible. Often the value of the information on cell phones, blackberries, and computer hard drives can be even more valuable than the cost of the electronic component itself.
Never use artificial sources of heat to dry out your home, as you can do more damage than good. Open windows, doors, and cabinets to try and let these items dry out naturally.
Anything that was wet should be set outside to dry, as long as no more rain is expected. This includes things like couches and chairs. If you suspect the flood water contained sewage, you may want to replace the furniture and file an insurance claim on it instead of trying to use it again.
