Floods can be really difficult to handle and can cause destruction on a large scale. This destruction can be both financial and non-financial. The latter kind includes the loss of human lives and injuries to people. This is something which cannot be avoided completely but the damage can be controlled with proper steps. Awareness of what to do in such a situation is extremely important. Here are just a few steps that must be taken after a flood.
1. Electricity
Make sure that there are no live wires or poles damaged due to flood near you. If there is any sign of that, do not go anywhere near them. If it is extremely important, try to cross the path at the midsection of two poles.
If there is water on the floor or on the ground or something like that and you are in doubt that this might be due to flood, avoid stepping on it as there might be some live wire and it could be dangerous for you. Flood boots can be of great help if you really need to step on that water.
Try not to use any of the electrical boards around you that you may feel have the slightest chance of being exposed to the flood because the wetness can be very destructive.
2. Food
Make sure to throw out every kind of food that might have been exposed to flood water except for sealed cans and try not to use them before rinsing them in boiled water.
As for drinking water, try to use only boiled water because there is a chance that all the other kinds of private and municipal supply might have gotten contaminated by sewerage water.
3. Shelter
Try to take pictures of your house before changing anything or trying to take care of the damage for your insurer.
Try not to force any wooden thing in or out because that may cause them to break.
Put wooden boards on windows and make sure that you take pictures of that as well so that you can show your insurer that you did everything possible.
If you have the slightest of doubts that the house may not be suitable for habitation, don't risk it and leave immediately to a safer location and call your insurer.
4. Health
The most important thing that you need to do is to decide whether or not you've been exposed to any sort of flood water. This is because such kind of water usually has a lot of germs and the best thing to do about it is to get to a hospital to be evaluated.
If you need flood damage restoration, contact the team at ServiceMaster Restore today. From flood cleanup to fire damage repair, we can help.
