Guide to Preventing Flood Damage in Your Home — Part I

12/3/2020 (Permalink)

If you are on the Big Island of Hawaii and have suffered severe flood damage, contact SERVPRO of Hawaii/Maui for water damage cleanup today.

Imagine if your whole life was suddenly washed away in a single day. It may sound terrible, but this grim reality occurs to thousands of homeowners each and every year. Fortunately, there are some preventative measures you can leverage to prevent your home from flooding — saving your belongings and yourself from a very stressful situation. This blog, brought to you by SERVPRO of Hawaii/Maui, lays out some of the ways you can prevent flood damage. 

Has your home already been flooded and you’re looking for water damage cleanup here on the Big Island? Our restoration company is here to provide you with the fast, effective services you need to mitigate damages and get your home back to its normal condition. Reach out to us today for emergency services or if you have any questions about what we can do to help now!

(808) 329-6560

Examine Your Foundation

When it comes to mitigating flood damage, we should always start with the basics. In this case, that means protecting your foundation by fixing any cracks in your basement that risk letting water seep in overtime and becoming increasingly larger and more dangerous. Many people think a flood is always going to be something dramatic such as a hurricane or a typhoon, yet in many cases, a leak or a drip can end up being just as damaging. To address cracks in your foundation, all you need is some masonry caulk and mortar. After fixing any cracks, keep an eye on it over time. If you see cracks continue to get progressively worse, it’s a good idea to get professional assistance. 

Consider Your Location

While we are mostly concerned in this guide with protecting your home from flooding in an immediate way, this point is more strategic and long-term in its nature. That is to say, the best way to ensure that one’s home is not flooded is to live in an area where flooding is uncommon, or at least where communities are designed and tested against the natural threats of their particular climate adequately. Of course, we don’t always have lots of choices when it comes to our homes’ locations. One useful resource we can turn to when considering a new home is the interactive FEMA flood map, which categorizes different regional zones on a scale from mostly safe to high risk of flooding. These maps can also be relevant for those who currently don’t have flood insurance and want to understand how relevant that type of insurance would be for them based on their location and risk factors. 

Use Landscaping for Flood Protection

More immediately implementable flood protection is to design and/or modify your landscape with this goal in mind. This is one of the best ways of keeping your home safe. Ditches and other features designed for channeling rainwater away from your building are also very useful for preventing flooding. Be sure to keep your landscape clean — including property features such as downspouts and gutters. If these get clogged with debris, they’re not going to function as efficiently, risking putting your home in line for potential water damage.

Continue Reading in Part II

Read part II of this two-part article series to learn more about how you can prevent your property for flooding.

When preparing for the worst, it may seem like a pointless waste of time. Even if your region’s risk of flooding is only 1%, it’s still worth taking seriously, as to not prepare is to leave yourself subject to greater damages when that 1% becomes a reality. 

If the worst does happen to you, SERVPRO of Hawaii/Maui is here to help. Our team of cleanup and restoration technicians are trained, certified, and highly experienced in what we do. If you have a water emergency or would like to schedule a service at your home, please reach out to us at 808-961-6560. We are available 24/7.