How to Prepare for a Flood

Flash floods can happen anytime, but if you’re lucky, an impending flood may be predicted in time for you to prepare for the disaster. Given that just a few inches of water can cause hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of damage, a day or two of preparation can be a tremendous help. How can you prepare?

Home Inventory
If you haven’t already, now is the time to create a home inventory. This is essentially a list or photo reference of everything you own that you would want replaced in the event of a disaster. The more information you can provide (brand, value, serial number etc.), the more accurately your flood insurance provider can determine how much loss to compensate you for. Be sure to store this information somewhere safe, like a cloud drive or safety deposit box.

Remove Items
Depending on how much time you have, you may be able to rent a storage unit on higher ground and remove some of your valuable items before the flood. Consider removing irreplaceable family photos and heirlooms, sentimental valuables, artwork, furniture and even the carpeting.

Raise Items
If there’s no time to remove items, you can raise items to keep them above the projected flood level. This is easy for electronics and small objects that can fit on a high shelf or cabinet. Large appliances and furniture presents a bigger challenge. Turn off and unplug anything electronic and raise these large items up on cinder blocks or anything tall and strong enough to support the weight of these items above the projected flood level.

Emergency Plan
Having advance notice gives you a change to fine tune your emergency plan. Turn off your water, gas and electricity before the flood. Discuss evacuation routes with your family and make sure everyone knows what supplies to grab on their way out. Pack backpacks full of drinking water, non-perishable food (for pets and babies too), medications, first aid supplies, clean clothes, cell phone chargers, blankets, flash lights with extra batteries, hygiene products and anything else you wish to pack. Getting your family to safety should be your top priority—the rest of it is just stuff.

We’ll help rebuild your life. Call Bruni Insurance Agency for more information on Louisiana flood insurance.