Disaster Preparedness 101: Five Steps to Protect Your House against Floods

​One of the worst things that could happen to your home is flooding. Flooding is one of the most common natural disasters that families from all over the world encounter. For this reason, you have to prepare yourself and your home for it at all times. Here are some of the steps that you can take to do so.

1. Know the Risks
   First, you have to know the risks in terms of the location of your house and its design. Some residential areas are prone to flooding because of its low-level location and the weak integrity of the property land.
   
   If you understand the specs of your land well enough, you will be able to take measures to protect yourself against eventual flooding early on.
   
   
2. Prepare Your Family and Yourself for Emergencies (Or Evacuation) If Necessary
   Secondly, you have to make sure that you and your family are well prepared for a future flood. It would help to devise a communication plan that can allow you to communicate with numbers of your family even if you get separated before, during, or after the disaster.
   
   
3. Elevate
   The next step that you should take is to elevate every furniture piece that you can. In particular, you should try to raise the water heater as well as any electronic device that you can. Place the furnace in a high area in the house.
   
   This tactic will prevent the machine from short-circuiting even before the flood begins.
   
   
4. Install Check Valves
   Install check valves around the house to help prevent the floodwaters from clogging your drain pipes in case the storm comes. If you have enough cash, you can place sandbags in your backyard to prevent water from coming into the house.
   
   
5. Use Waterproof Wall Materials and Plug Holes
   Lastly, try to build your walls with waterproof materials to block floodwater in the future. You should also seal away some of the holes in different parts of the house if you can. 
   
   Additional Tips: Build an Emergency Kit
   You should also build an emergency kit that will allow you to carry valuable items out of the house even before the calamity hits. Remember to pack only the essentials for the bag. Here is a list of things that you can place inside as follows:
      - Toiletries
      - A few extra clothes items
      - Rain gear
      - Flashlights
      - Extra batteries
      - Snacks
      - First Aid Medication

Conclusion
These are just some of the necessary steps that you can take to prevent floods inside the house. Just make sure that you are well aware of the typhoon signals in your area so that you can prepare accordingly in the future.

At Berlin & Denys Insurance, we do our best in making sure that our clients are well-protected with affordable and comprehensive policies. We make sure to go the extra mile to help you with your needs. To learn more about how we can help you, please contact our agency at (800) 946-3303 or Click Here to request a free quote.