With the potential for flooding as heavy rain and storms hit, home owners need to take steps to prevent flood damage to their homes. We take a look at what to do.
Firstly, being prepared is critical to help prevent flood damage to your property.Many people buy home insurance, covering their buildings and contents, assume they have cover for things like storm damage or flood damage and burst pipes.
This may not be the case and you do need to check your policy and ensure there are no exclusions or that there is a limit on the cover available.Don’t underestimate the value of your contents either and understand whether the policy you have replaces new for old.As the Environment Agency suggests, as part of your flood preparation it’s a good idea to put a kit together of essential items.
Include items such as:
- A torch with spare batteries
- Warm, waterproof clothing and blankets
- A first aid kit and prescription medicine
- Bottled water and non-perishable foods
- Baby food and baby care items
- A wind-up or battery radio
Keep copies of your home insurance documents in your flood kit too, along with contact emergency contact numbers.Make sure you know how turn off your gas, electricity and water mains supplies – and remember you may need to do this in the dark.
Think about what you could move to safety in case of a flood – consider personal items such as photo albums and treasured items as well as the more obvious things such as furniture, electrical equipment and other items you have around your home.Getting flood protection equipment to help stop flood water is also a good idea, for example sandbags and floodboards.
You can find out more information on how to protect your home from flood damage on the Environment Agency website.
