6 Steps to Save Your House From Flood
Step 1: Grab important things and Run
Flash floods are called that because the water rises quickly and without much warning. So if you see the water levels rising, it's already almost too late. grab only the most important things and leave. There is no point to grab everything and lose your life.
Step 2: Take plenty of pictures as evidence
We’re not talking about selfies for your social media. The photographic evidence is to be used as proof when doing your insurance claims. Do not take pictures after the waters receded or after you’ve mended the furniture. It can affect your claims and the amount.
Step 3: Call your insurance company
Either call your agent or the headquarters to report the flooding and to enquire on how to process your claims. It can sometimes take weeks for the adjusters to come verify the damage caused and to process your claims.
Step 4: How about my Home Loan?
If you're unable to fulfil your monthly home loan payments because of the disaster, ask your loan officer/bank if they're able to offer a mortgage forbearance.A mortgage forbearance basically allows you to pause payments for a certain period of time as agreed by both parties.
Step 5: Are you living in a disaster area?
Once the government declares a location as a 'Disaster Area', you'll have better access to resources and services that’ll help you get back on your feet, including financial assistance.
Step 6: Home bound or No?
There will only be 2 scenarios after the flood. You either get a green light from the insurance company to drain the water and after some repairs the home is livable again. Or the unfortunate 2nd scenario where the home is no longer safe to live in. If that is the case, then hopefully the insurance on the home would be enough to help you and your family settle someplace else.
Be prepared for natural disasters:
- Prepare an emergency kit and evacuation plan for your whole family.
- Close any cracks in your foundation with quality material that won’t crack again.
- Look up contacts or organisations that specialise in restoring homes after a natural disaster.
- Move expensive items to a safer location, like a safe deposit box or in a vault.
- Tie down your gas tanks to prevent them from floating away (yes, gas tanks can float if the density of the cylinder is less than the density of water)!