Well, that was a lot of snow! With another 3-6 inches coming in the next couple of days, make sure you are driving safely. Snow is enjoyable while it’s still cold out, but the change of seasons will create problems if there is still plenty of it leftover. When spring comes around and the temperatures begin to rise, we could be looking at some serious flash flooding with all of this new snow. Here are some ways to prepare your Iowa home to avoid potential spring floods.
Understanding Spring Floods
Before we talk about ways to prepare yourself, it’s important to know why spring floods are such a common issue. According to FEMA, here are the common causes of spring flooding.
Spring Thaw
During the winter, the ground below our feet remains hard and the water from snow has nowhere to seep into. Every cubic foot of snow equates to one gallon of water when it melts. When you have a wave of 50-degree weather with multiple inches of snow, you can have a serious amount of water appearing with the still hard ground below still not able to absorb it.
Spring Rains
You know the phrase: “April showers bring May flowers”. Once again, the ground takes a while to thaw out after a long, cold winter, making it hard for the ground to absorb the heavy amounts of saturation. This leads to heavy flowing rivers and overflowing storm drains.
Preparing Your Home For Flooding
If it’s early/mid-March and there are over 4 inches of snow on the ground, you’ll want to make sure that your home is at low risk of flooding. Considering weather patterns in Iowa are quite sporadic, it’s always better to play it safe. These are a few things you can do to protect your home against spring flooding
Move Snow
If there is a decent amount of snow around your home, it can potentially flood into your home when it melts. Relocating the snow to other parts of your yard can solidify that it won’t melt into the foundation of your house.
Check Gutters
If sticks, rocks, or other objects are blocking your gutters and downspouts from allowing water through, you could be looking at flooding in your attic, garage, or even down the walls of your home.
Cover Window Wells
If you have basement windows with large window wells accessible from the outside, those should be covered. Installing window well covers still allows light in while drastically reducing the risk of snowmelt or rainwater from seeping into your basement.
Flood Insurance
Not many people realize that most home insurance policies do not include flood protection. According to FEMA, the average flood claim was $34,000 between 2006 and 2010. Without insurance, the majority of that is coming out of pocket. Every home is potentially at risk for flooding, even if you live far away from a river or body of water.
Flood Damage Repair
In the unfortunate event that you do experience flooding this spring or any time of the year, ServiceMaster By Rice is here for your flood cleanup needs. Unfortunately, spring flooding isn’t the only way your home can be affected by water damage. If your sump pump fails, your sewer backs up, your pipes break, any other circumstance, our IICRC technicians will be there as soon as possible to serve you.
ServiceMaster By Rice
We proudly serve 55 different counties around the state of Iowa and parts of Minnesota. We provide many other services than just flood damage repair as well. If you need a professional carpet cleaner near you, mold removal, fire damage repair, tile cleaning, and much more. If you are looking to set up an appointment, contact us!
