What to Do When You Suffer Storm Damage
12/3/2020 (Permalink)
What to Do When You Suffer Storm Damage
Water is the world's most powerful force, and while most people just focus on the wind when they think about a hurricane, flooding is almost always the bigger issue. In places around the world where storm damage has happened, river flooding, ground water problems and other subsequent issues have led to roof damage, roof leaks and other similar concerns. When you find yourself inundated with flood water and hurricane damage, what should you do? Whether it's hail damage, ice damage, wind damage or damage to your flood pump, it's important to have a plan. Here's where to start with storm remediation.
Put in a call to FEMA
Perhaps the first step when you've suffered storm damage is to put in a call to FEMA. Whether river flooding filled your house or you suffered a roof leak from wind damage, a call to FEMA is the first step in storm remediation. FEMA is a federal agency set up to help people deal with storm restoration, home restoration and other types of storm remediation. If you've taken a direct hit and are suffering from hurricane damage, FEMA can sometimes provide you with money to use in the storm remediation. You'll have to get a FEMA number to get the process started.
Gather and protect your personal information for insurance and other claims
If you've been the victim of flooding, wind damage, roof damage, roof leaks and other problems, you may be able to file an insurance claim that will provide you with the money to hire a professional to fix your home. Ground water and flood water can be dangerous, so it's critical to get the process started early. Even if you're the victim of a winter storm and you have frozen pipes from ice damage along with hail damage, you should still gather your information for insurance purposes. The home restoration process from a problem with ice damming or wind damage is largely the same. It should start with the successful protection of your most important documents so you'll have what you need when you go to file an insurance claim to cover that roof repair.
Get out of a damaged house as quickly as possible
Whether an ice dam has busted of you need storm restoration because of wind damage, it's critical not to spend time in a damaged home. Those homes suffering from ice damage or ice damming problems can have structural issues and be unsafe. If you don't have ice damage and you instead have river flooding, you may be living in a veritable cesspool. Your safety should be most important, so it pays to get out before you start the process of a complete home restoration or water restoration. After you've gotten out, you can find a professional company to provide storm damage help, including roof repair for a roof leak, water pump action for flooding, and full home restoration for ground water problems.
Call a company to provide professional help
Water restoration in your home is easiest with an professional flood pump, and frozen pipes from an ice dam issue shouldn't be handled by an amateur. If you find yourself fixing frozen pipes because of ice damming, you are doing it wrong. The better option to rid yourself of flood water or handle that roof repair is to invest in professional help. If it's hurricane damage that's brought that river flooding into your home, then you'll likely have a long road ahead of you. The flood water and ground water problems can do significant damage to the bones of your home, and a professional water restoration company may have to fix your home over the long haul. Even if it's just hail damage or ice damage from ice damming problems, you may have an insurance payoff to help you get professional help into your home. Take advantage of that and save yourself the trouble.
If it's storm restoration you're after, get your affairs in order and call a professional storm restoration company with skilled people and a real flood pump. If it's something like roof damage or other structural storm damage, allow a professional to do that roof repair or fix problems from an ice dam. Frozen pipes and water restoration from hurricane damage are nothing to play around with. A professional who has dealt with ice dam issues or hail damage before can walk you through a stressful time. Their flood pump may just accelerate the process, too, if you have extensive water in your home.