How To Reduce Your Home Flooding Risk

8/26/2022 (Permalink)

Home flooding and the resulting damage account for a large share of homeowner’s insurance claims. Basements and crawl spaces bear more risk than most other areas of your home because water seeks the lowest points. This discussion on minimizing residential flood risk may help you prevent a basement flood and an expensive, disruptive cleanup process.

Sources of Home Flooding 

Part of preventing water-related property damage is understanding the potential sources of the problem. These are the primary scenarios that can cause residential water damage.

• A broken water pipe or leaking appliance
• A failed sump pump
• An overflowing bathtub or toilet
• Storm-related flooding
• Municipal failures such as dam breaches or water main breaks
  
  

While homeowners tend to associate extreme weather with home flooding, both internal and external water sources can be the culprit. A malfunctioning sump pump can turn a minor rain storm into a basement flood in a matter of minutes. Empowering yourself with knowledge about flood risk reduces the likelihood that you will experience a home flood event.

Flood Risk Reduction
A risk assessment for home flooding will help you make some decisions about proper preventive measures. Your homeowner’s insurance agent or local flood remediation service can help point out vulnerable conditions in your location, elevation, structure and climate. This will help you determine what measures could reduce your risk.

Based on the outcome of your risk assessment, you can develop a custom flood prevention plan that includes preventive repairs and maintenance, emergency preparedness and household readiness. For instance, maintaining perimeter drainage routes can prevent a basement flood. Involving your family in emergency evacuation drills reduces risk by preparing residents to act quickly in an emergency.

It is smart to sign up for any local or national emergency notification services, so you will be aware of any major threatening events.

The best plan for preventing a flood in your Foxs Corner, FL, home is to survey your property for weak points and address them. A little bit of preventive maintenance and some household preparedness could mean the difference between a muddy back yard and a completely flooded first level.