Springtime Storm Flooding

3/29/2022 (Permalink)

Bingley Floods Boxing Day 2015 River Aire - Ireland Bridge

Flooding, an overflowing of water that covers or submerges land that is normally dry, is the most common natural disaster in the United States. (Ready.gov/ Samhsa.gov) Although often predicable and planned for alongside “emergency declaration for evacuation, storms and floods can be occasionally unpredictable. Floods happen during heavy rains when the snow melts rapidly when dams or levees break (most notably is the New Orleans levee break killing hundreds and leaving millions homeless). Flooding can even be in relation to other natural disasters such as underwater earthquakes causing tsunamis and hurricanes.

Flash floods are fast-moving waters that are particularly dangerous because of the combination of destructive power and speed. Usually occurred by heavy rainfall exceeding the grounds or drainage system’s ability to absorb the water. Water flows out into streets and sidewalks making driving and walking very dangerous. These flash floods can be significantly damaging to infrastructure. Flooding can cause server damage to residential and commercial properties. Although these events can occur randomly there are ways to prepare and prevent the damaging effects of flooding.  

Preventative steps you can take in the case of a flood are unclogging drains and gutters, using sandbags to direct the flow of water, installing a backflow prevention device, and getting a sump pump. A sump pump is a submersible device installed in a sump pit dug at the lowest point of your house such as the basement and used as a sort of drain. installed If your residential or commercial property suffers from flood damage, call your local SERVPRO franchise professionals to help make it “Like it never even happened”