It goes without saying that homeowners who are victims of a flood are going to need as much financial assistance is possible to get back on their feet. But without proper flood coverage that’s easier said than done.

To start with, it must be understood that purchasing flood insurance is optional most of the time. Perhaps the only exception is house located in a designated floodplain. In such cases your bank might require you to purchase flood insurance and maintain it as long as you owe money on the mortgage. It’s also important to note that there are some municipalities that require residents of floodplains to purchase flood insurance.

What’s Covered

The typical flood insurance policy is broken into two categories: building and contents. Unless you specify otherwise, a basic flood insurance policy only covers the building portion. Building coverage pays for damage to a foundation, floor, and things necessary for the proper functioning of the home such as the furnace, water heater, and circuit box.

Content coverage would take care of things like your washer and dryer, a freezer and its contents and so on. What’s tricky about content insurance is what is, and is not, covered. As a general rule contents insurance will not cover things that could be reasonably stored someplace in your home other than the basement. But that’s up to each individual insurance company. You’ll have to discuss that with your broker when you purchase a policy.

What’s Not Covered

Flood insurance usually does not pay to repair a finished basement damaged in the flood. The policy will cover the cost of getting rid of excess water and fixing holes in the foundation, but you’ll have to pay for new drywall and carpeting on your own. That being the case you should think twice before you decide to remodel a basement in a home within a designated floodplain.

In terms of contents, very rarely will you be covered for damage to your personal belongings. As an example, if you stored valuable antiques or historical family documents in your basement your insurance company won’t touch them. First off, they could have been stored somewhere less likely to be affected by a flood and second, there’s often no way to place a value on such items. If you lose them in a flood you’ll have to pay to replace them on your own.

The key to flood insurance is to know exactly what you’re covered for and to what extent. When you’re armed with all the proper information will be able to choose the right policy and decide the safest way to use your basement space. If you need more coverage than your policy affords, consider purchasing an umbrella policy to make up the difference.

A wet basement can be anything from a small puddle in a corner to three-feet of water covering the entire area. The cause of such damage could be anything from blocked drains to a poor gradient. Seeing standing water will make it immediately obvious that there is a problem; however, determining a wet basement is not always as straightforward.

Signs of wetness

In order to properly address a wet basement, you will need to familiar with the signs. The most common of these is odor. If a basement has any problem with water there will usually be an accompanying smell. This smell is generally a musty one and may well hang around after water has gone. Other signs include:

● Horizontal cracks on the exterior of the home, is a telling sign. These can often be caused by saturated soil.
● Efflorescence caused when water soaks into concrete may be seen on basement walls on floors. This is apparent when concrete has a white chalky residue.
● Sunken floors caused by compacted or washed away soil. This problem is generally found in corners of the basement.
● Water getting into the walls can cause concrete become loose and flaky; this is known as spalling and is a probable sign of water damage.

Addressing the situation

Once you have determined that the basement is suffering from water infiltration, it is time to address the situation. If the problem is a major one, for instance, flooding, it is wise to seek professional help immediately. However, in most situations, the problem is a minor one that can be easily resolved.

• The first thing to do is to check the roof gutters are functioning properly, it is their job to catch rain and direct it away from the home’s foundation. Working drains will prevent foundations becoming saturated.
• Next, you should locate any holes or cracks in the foundations, clear them and seal with cement.
• It may also be wise to fix the gradient around the home, this helps to draw water away from the home.
• Dampness in the walls or on the floor of the basement can be helped with a dehumidifier to keep humidity below 60 percent.

Determining and solving the problem of a wet basement early will prevent mold from manifesting, causing potentially thousands of pounds worth of damage.

From December 2011 through February 2012, a weather record was broken for the United States as this period was the 4th warmest winter ever recorded for the lower 48 states. Two deadly tornado outbreaks ripped through portions of the Ohio Valley between the end of February and the first two days of March which caused widespread devastation and resulted in dozens of people losing their lives.

The primary risks for severe weather today are focused on Chicago and on a large portion of southern lower Michigan. The National Weather Service has warned that spotty, damaging winds and hail could hit that region of the country today with the chance of an isolated severe thunderstorm also developing. Detroit is expected to see waves of showers and thunderstorms move through the metro area later today with the chance of rain being at 100%. The skies are expected to clear this afternoon but soon afterward, more evening rains and thunderstorms will move their way into the Motor City and surrounding areas.

Early spring is the time for home and business owners to prepare for the possibility of flooding. While flooding can occur at any time during late winter going into early spring the ground is frozen, there are no leaves on the trees and rivers have ice – all of which are factors that increase the risk of flooding when springtime rains arrive. It is important to check with your insurance agent about flood insurance coverage. Most homeowner insurance policies do not cover floods. Your insurance agent can help you get insurance through the National Flood Insurance Program or NFIP.

It is also important to pay attention to flood evacuation orders and not to walk or drive through flooded areas. Flood water travels very quickly. The powerful, fast moving currents are able to sweep vehicles away in secondds so stay inside and if you are trapped, wait for help to arrive. It is the time of the year to hold a family meeting so that a home evacuation plan can be developed. If you live in a tornado-prone area, be sure to designate a spot in the basement or lower level of your home where you all will gather in case a warning is issued.

This is the time of year many homeowners put down their guard against bad weather and think ahead to warm, sunny days. However, this new system that is predicted to bring storms to much of the country this week should remind us that late February early March weather can be severe and quite unpredictable. It can rain relentlessly for hours and even days – heavy, wet snow can fall as can freezing rain and in some parts of the country, tornadoes can develop.

Now is the time to go outside your home and inspect the roof for loose shingles, check that the gutters and downspouts are clear and trim trees which may have dead or dying branches. Make sure that the flashing under your roof is intact. If you see holes or cracks, fill them with caulking compound to keep moisture out of your walls and attic. Look for loose fittings, cracks and holes around your windows and doors and fix any problems you find.

Flooding and flash floods occur in every state in the US. This means that you should always be prepared. You should have a disaster plan in place so your family members know how to get in touch with one another. It is also essential to know your community’s evacuation routes. Do not store valuables in the basement and make sure your floor drains are clear. Keep window wells and eaves clear of debris and check your home’s foundations for cracks. If you have a sump pump, be sure that it is working properly.

If you live in a tornado prone area, make sure that anything that can be picked up and carried away outside your home is put away or secured. If you have awnings or shutters on your home, check to see that they are in good shape and secured. Have a safe room designated inside your home where family members can gather. Put an emergency kit in that room which contains some first aide supplies, a working cell phone, transistor radio, bottled water and medication.

It is always wise to prepare your home and property for possible severe spring weather damage. It does not take long to inspect your home and fix small problems. If you neglect to do so, you are putting your home and your family at risk. So spring into action now – check your home and property so that you’re ready for whatever Mother Nature brings your way!

Flash floods are generally short term events that affect areas far away from the original rainstorm. These floods can arrive quickly and without warning and destroy houses, roads, and nearly anything else in its path.

Slow moving thunderstorms which are common in the springtime are a major cause of flash floods. The severe water damage that it can cause to houses in its path is pretty incredible. Often times storm drains are not strong enough to handle the flood waters and get backed up and even overflow, this makes the impending damage even worse. The most at risk areas are the homes situated in low lying places, areas near water as well as being downstream from a dam.
Springtime and summer storms which often bring hurricanes in the Atlantic also bring high winds, heavy rainfall and big storms in the low lying coastal communities. This can cause severe flooding and major water damage from overflowing storm drains as well as rooftops even being blown off.

When spring comes the humidity rises and the potential for mold growth also increases. The faster you can dry out and clean up your home the better you will be. If you need to spend the extra money to enlist a water damage restoration emergency response team, Do it! This will save you a lot of money in the long run.

Other issues that you may face when the weather starts to warm up is generally plumbing related. This would be something like air conditioner condensation, your above ground pool collapses as well as overwatering the lawn.
Springtime is when you’ll want to tinker around your house and check for leaks while at the same time making sure everything is still well maintained. Keep an eye out for any areas in your home where condensation and water are collecting.

Some common places you’ll want to check are drip pans underneath your AC unit, refrigerator and water heater. Empty these drip pans periodically to make sure they do not overflow and cause water damage to your floors, walls and other structures. Keeping these areas dry will stop the growth of mold spores.

You can check for signs of excess moisture by looking for spots on the walls and fogged up windows. The areas of your home that are at the most risk of suffering from water damage due to condensation is the laundry room, bathroom and kitchen.

When you do laundry or you are cooking you are contributing to the indoor humidity in your home. A good investment to combat this condensation problem would be to invest in a humidity control system or an exhaust fan. You should also do a little work outside your home. Cleaning out your rain gutters is a good start as well as fixing any broken sprinkler heads.

Officials at O’Hare airport reported that more than 1 ½ inches of rain fell Wednesday which is a record for December. More rain is expected to fall early today before the cooler weather moves in. The rain is coming from the same system which dumped heavy snowfall in New Mexico and Arizona. Chicagoians can expect winds to be be variable, blowing between 10 and 20 miles per hour with some gusting up to 40 mph early Thursday.

As things look now, people living in Chicago will probably not have a white Christmas this year as there is no real threat of substantial snow in the immediate forecast. While the temperatures are dropping within normal range Thursday, they are expected to rise once again Sunday and remain steady in the high 30s and low 40s. A mixture of rain and snow showers is forecast for Tuesday but with temperatures expected to hover around 39 degrees, a slushy mix is expected which will melt quickly once it hits the ground.

The standard is that one inch of rain equals ten inches of snow. That means if the nearly 2 inches of rain that fell in Chicago would have been snow, it would have resulted in over 1 ½ feet of snow on the ground. But, those wishing for a white holiday and the thousands of Chicago area school children dreaming of school closings will just have to wait and see if measurable amounts of snow will indeed fall during the next ten days.

Prior to the reports, oil companies in the Gulf of Mexico had asked for employees to be evacuated from the offshore offices as safety measure. The day to day production of oil dwindled by about 660,000 oil barrels as 169 manned production platforms and 16 drilling rigs were evacuated. Louisiana had to bear a substantial impact of the storm with Mayor Mitch Landrieu declaring a state of emergency for people in North Orleans. Floodgates were asked to close and rescue boats were ramped up to help people move to a safer location. Grand Isle had many residents moving out of town after officials ordered voluntary evacuations. Lafourche and Terrebonne, the two parishes of Louisiana were also issued flash flood warnings after meteorologists issued warning about torrential rainfall with sandbags being distributed at several coastal areas. There were headwinds that resulted in a huge fire in the parish of Natchitoches, where ten homes and many buildings in the 400 acre of land were set afire and then destroyed.

Though there has been no injuries reported so far, there have been news of the water penetrating into the low-lying areas of Louisiana and causing extensive damage. The Bayou County has been always vulnerable to tropical storms and hurricanes. Needless to say, a lot of evacuations were done from this area as well, mostly in town like Jean Lafitte. Peter Wilkinson, an angler says that he had thought of the rain as a trivial one and had not cared much about it. But then as the storm gathered strength, he realized that he had done the right thing listening to the authorities. A resident of the Bayou area, he had thought that his sturdy house that was on an elevated ground was adept to bear the storm. But his wife had coaxed him to listen to the authorities and he had reluctantly abided by her request and carried his family, consisting of two kids to another place. Having taking stock of how his house had been submerged and with a tree near his house collapsing, he is happy that he was able to take his family out of the mess

Though it is believed that Lee may weaken in the near future, the weather forecasters say that the rains may strike and wash a huge portion of Central Gulf Coast. As of now, the citizens are adopting a wait and watch approach hoping that things ease to normalcy soon.

The National Weather Service has issued a flood warning for much of southeastern lower Michigan that is to remain in effect through at least late Thursday night. Up to three more inches of rain could fall on the already soaked region. The heavy rains have already turned many of Detroit’s area roads and expressways into rushing rivers, slowing traffic to a standstill in some areas and causing many minor car accidents.

The heavy rains have left one exclusive Detroit suburb with overflowing sewers and flooded basements. The city of Grosse Pointe Farms has received dozens of calls from homeowners who returned home from work Wednesday to discover their homes had been inundated with water. City workers are scrambling to clean out city drains to help the standing water flow but the already heavily-saturated ground is making the process move very slowly. There are fears that the worst is yet to come.

Heavy rainfall fell on much of the lower portion of Michigan all day long on Wednesday, prompting the National Weather Service to issue flood warnings for most of the southeastern counties including Wayne, Oakland, Washtenaw, Livingston, Lenawee, St. Clair and Monroe. The service is also warning state residents that several thunderstorms are heading into the region which could produce golf ball sized hail and winds up to 70 miles per hour. Localized flash flooding is also possible.

Southeastern Michigan’s Huron and St. Clair Rivers have both reached flood stage, prompting them to creep over their banks. This has prompted residents living close to the rivers to scramble to try to safeguard their homes and properties. With additional rains on the way, the already swollen rivers could further bloat and cause more flooding in areas and neighborhoods not accustomed to flood waters.

A reprieve from the downpours is expected to occur for the upcoming Memorial Day weekend as much of Michigan will experience summer-like temperatures. However, experts are warning that the warm weather moving into the area could trigger the chance of thunderstorms across the state due to the instability in the atmosphere.

On May 10th, the water reached nearly 48 feet, cutting through the Memphis area, and consequently submerging the waterfront recreation center. Capt. John T. Lozier, a tourist riverboat, was even moved up to only a few feet away from where astonished onlookers were standing to take pictures of this unusual scene. But perhaps the reason why Memphis has not suffered the same fate as its neighbors is that it is situated high above the Mississippi River, and although thousands of people were sent to emergency shelters, the impact to local infrastructures have been minimal compared to other large-scale disasters that have hit the country over the last 20 years.

That’s not to say though that the damage is nominal, quite the opposite. Many homes and businesses have been completely destroyed, and due to the ruin of many offices and business establishments, a lot of workers lost their jobs. But perhaps the ones that are most affected by the flooding are the farmers, whose crops and livestock have been washed away, losing millions of dollars worth of earnings. But people who lived in the low-lying areas were prepared and were thus able to get out alive. So far, there have been 27 floodgates that were closed, which is something that’s never been done since the Great Mississippi Flood. Volunteers and the government have been working hard to keep everyone safe.
Amidst all these, Mayor A C Wharton is doing the best he can to put everything in perspective. He tells the public that even though Memphis has been hit by a terrible flood, only 20 miles are underwater, with most of the submerged area uninhabited. The community continues to pray and hold on to their faith, hoping that they can put all these behind them real soon.

The US Army Corps of Engineers held a briefing Sunday afternoon at Confederate Park to report on the levee situation and the work they have been doing to try to keep the flooding to a minimum. Colonel Vernie Reichling, commander of the Memphis district Corps of Engineers said that the river is moving so quickly that it could fill a football field with nearly 45 feet of water in just a single second. He said that a great deal of that is due to a massive increase in the amount of rainfall areas over the past two weeks that have been dumping water into the river. Reichling reported that so far the levees look good and that there are no concerns that they are failing. He cautioned Memphis residents to remain vigilant as the Mississippi River will take up to two weeks to slowly recede after hitting its crest of 48 feet on Tuesday.

Residents in more than 1,300 Memphis homes were told to get out before the river reaches its peak. Officials went door to door spreading the unfortunate news Sunday. Some roads and streets in and around Memphis are already flooded. The downtown area is not expected to have serious damage. Tennessee governor Bill Haslam flew over the affected parts of the state Sunday and said that it is very sobering to see the Mississippi River over two miles wide at some places because it’s lost its borders. In some areas of Memphis, muddy brown water swept through entire neighborhoods, leaving only the roofs and treetops visible from the sky. Shelby County emergency officials warned residents in and around Memphis and other parts of the county to stay away from the flood water as it could be contaminated with toxic and unknown chemicals.

The Great Flood of 1927 set high marks that may be broken as an huge volume of water makes its way down the Mississippi River to the Gulf of Mexico. However, the Mississippi is better controlled nowadays with levees, reservoirs and gates. Many residents in Shelby Country have been told stories about that deadly flood which were passed on to them from earlier generations. They do not want to become a part of history themselves in the same way that many of their parents and grandparents did.