What to do after a flood surge?

Last Thursday, April 13, it was reported that homeowners in Hollywood, Florida and other neighborhoods across Broward County, experienced significant flooding. It is said to be a once-in-a-lifetime event, as up to 25 inches of rain fell in the span of 24 hours, resulting in more than 18 inches of water level in some area. Many residents are now concerned of the extent of the damages that they incurred by this unfortunate event but don't know what to do next.

Normally, one would think that the first step to take post flooding, is to clean the property right away. Actually a very critical part of the restoration process is to do the following:

1. To document each affected area of the house, if not the whole property (as it was the case with many during this flood) by taking pictures and videos to show the seriousness of the damage(s). This will be helpful when submitting your claims to the insurance company.

2. Following keeping a detailed photographic record of the damages, you should contact your insurance company. Do not delay in notifying your insurer of the damages sustained by the house. That will help avoid any delays and getting in line to resolve your claim in a timely manner. So, please inform the insurance carrier immediately so it won’t look bad on you as well.

3. Then the next step is attend to your personal items, drywalls, windows, flooring, and appliances and make sure to dry them as soon as possible and have them fixed if broken.

Keep in mind that not all flood insurance policies cover mold damages but do “mitigation repairs/restoration” in most cases, in which they provide fans to dry up the rooms, cut the affected drywalls to prevent mold from spreading further into the rest of the property, and dehumidifiers to extract all the invisible moisture built up within the walls.

Just as in any profession, we recommend you seek an expert to help smoothen out the process instead of you going at this overwhelming task blindly with high odds of making mistakes. That said, hire a public adjuster who will fight for your interest in getting you the most money instead of relying for the insurance company’s adjuster who most likely will give you the bare minimum when it comes to pay for the flood mitigation claim.