What to do after a flood?
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Even though you are living in an area that experiences low annual rainfall, the flood may occur due to breaking of a damn or sometimes an exponential increase in the precipitation of the city.
If any area hasn’t witnessed flood in the past that doesn’t mean it is secure from flood, it is an unforeseen disaster that may occur anytime. Several factors affect the occurrence of flood, including the vegetation of the area, rainfall density, topographical structure, course of the river, tidal-surge statistics, and dynamic changes due to upcoming constructions and development rate.
There are some flood control measures that one must consider during building construction like a proper boundary should be there, a suitable drainage system must be built, always keep your documents at high shelves as we know that natural disasters like flood are unavoidable.
What should we do after the flood?
Schedule property inspection at the professional level First and foremost, we must carry out water damage restoration. Stay out of any building if floodwaters surround it.
We must check for molds as early as possible because they can spread to the entire property in one or two days and affect the structural integrity adversely. However, flood causes variable damage to the business. Mold can cause severe respiratory disorders.
Hence, one must wear proper gloves and helmet before carrying out inspections. Remove all the wet contents like mattress, carpets to avoid the spread of molds. If your rugs come in contact with floodwater, they can be washed professionally.
Many buildings become so weak that they may even collapse, so before entering the property, we must make sure that it is safe to enter. You can always get the property checked by police or fire department, to prevent further injuries to human lives.
Arrange a clean-up
The complete clean-up and sanitization may take around weeks. Many people even employ disaster recoverers so that they can ensure proper cleaning and the least damage.
Remove dirt and debris.
Get rid of all dirty materials, wet content and debris. Break out walls to get rid of the deposited water, replace the drywall. Wash and dry out all the surfaces with scentless detergent.
Discard the useless stuff.
We must dispose of all the medicines, cosmetics, foodstuff and toiletries that have come in close contact with the floodwater. All the canned food should be washed with a disinfectant before we take it back into use.
We must discard all the fruits, vegetables, meat, dairy products that were present in the refrigerator or kitchen if there is any leakage from any bottle or jar that must be immediately discarded. The insulation materials, furniture, mattress, carpet, pillows, cushions, electrical equipment, and particleboard furniture that came in contact with floodwater
Pesticide.
Generally, a lot of fungal and bacterial colonies get deposited due to flood water. We must take appropriate measures to get rid of them to avoid any infections and diseases. Pesticides are absolutely safe once they dry; we must make sure that we give them enough time to dry out
properly.
Restarting business.
Make sure that there is no moving water around the premises, before stepping in check that the electric and gas connection are off, to avoid any further accidents or short circuits.
Claim Insurance.
Many of us have Home insurance plans; most of them cover damage caused due to flood. We must make our claim immediately and try to attach evidence like photographs, to make our application authenticated.
There are many government-supported agencies also that help flood victims like FEMA, we can approach them even for financial assistance and restoration.