Guide to Preventing Flood Damage in Your Home — Part II

1/4/2021 (Permalink)

Water Damage Restoration Maui: Prevent Flood Damage — Part II

In part I of this series, we covered a few different things to consider to prevent flood damage in your home. Specifically, we went over the following preventative measures:

• Foundation maintenance
• Location planning
• Using your landscape for flood protection

Today, we will consider exploring more ways to protect your property from flood damage. 

If your property has already been damaged by a flood and you are looking for cleanup and restoration services, SERVPRO of Hawaii/Maui offers 24/7 emergency support. Contact us today to mitigate damages promptly or to speak to a technician about any questions you may have. 

(808) 329-6560

Understand Your Risks

The extent of preparation justly called for regarding flooding is tied to the level of risk your region faces to flooding. Here in Hawaii, anywhere along the coast is typically going to be at a higher risk of flooding. To get an accurate understanding of the risk of living where you live, use the FEMA Flood Map. 

Get Flood Preventing Renovations

If you are living in a flood-prone area, it may be a good idea to renovate your house so that it is better capable of withstanding the rising tide, so as to minimize flood damage. Here are a few ways to do that:

• Put your home on stilts or piers — While this can be expensive, it can provide substantial long-term protection to your house. Ideally, new builders will do this for homes already in high-flood risk areas.
• Apply sealants and coatings — A far less expensive option is to coat your foundation, walls, doorways, windows, etc. with a sealant to prevent floodwater from getting inside even during times when the tide is higher than ground-level.
• Get a sump pump and/or foundation vents — Doing this provides your house places for water that gets into your house to go to reduce damages.
• Grade your lawn away from your house — When your lawn tilts away from your house, it channels surface runoff out and away from it instead of pooling it around it.
• Raise electrical outlets/switches — Electrical damage from flooding can be enormously expensive. Making sure all outlets, sockets, circuit breakers, and so on are at least a foot above flood damage can save you a lot of money in case your home gets flooded. 
• Point your downspout away from your property — Here’s one that’s totally free: double-check to make sure that all your downspouts are directed away from your house and that after water goes down them they have channels that take them away from your property. 

Next Time

We hope these tips have been useful for you, in considering how to best prepare for flood in the long term. In our next blog post, we’ll be looking at preventative steps you can take once flooding starts to actually occur. Time is of the essence! Don’t let yourself get caught in torrential rain or under the rising tide without being prepared. 

However, if you find the worst happening to you, know SERVPRO of Hawaii/Maui is always 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.