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DISASTER PREPAREDNESS
& RECOVERY |
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What To Do Before a
Catastrophe
What To Do After a Catastrophe
What To Do About Flood Damage
What To Do Before a Catastrophe
1. Alert police and fire departments to special conditions, such as an
invalid who might require emergency evacuation.
2. Prepare an inventory list of personal valuables, household
furnishings, and equipment so losses can be authoritatively itemized.
3. Keep your insurance coverage current with rising building
replacement costs. Make sure you have enough coverage for the furnishings
and other items you have purchased since you first bought insurance. Buy
Flood and Earthquake insurance, if you are eligible and vulnerable.
4. Review your insurance policy. Be sure everything important is
covered. Keep it in a safe place where it can be retrieved easily after a
disaster. Keep a quick-reference list containing your agent's telephone
number, all your policy numbers, and the insurance company names.
5. Know how to shut off your gas, electricity, and water, and how to
board up vulnerable places around the house, such as doors and windows.
6. Plan a family evacuation and relocation strategy.
(The next three items usually are recommended at the time of a hurricane
watch. However, waiting until then is not a good idea. First,
consider the threat of tornadoes and other sudden catastrophes. Second,
when a hurricane approaches, stores may run out of what you need as others make
an effort to stock up as well.)
7. Keep a supply of nonperishable foods and an emergency water supply;
have essential drugs and a first-aid kit available in your medicine chest.
Keep these supplies fresh.
8. Keep fresh batteries available for transistor radios and
flashlights, and an extra supply of fuel for portable grills and stoves.
9. Have available the hammer, nails, tape, and boards needed for
protecting your residence from the elements or making necessary emergency
repairs afterward.
To Top
What To Do After a Catastrophe
1. Get in contact with your agent as quickly as possible.
Let him
or her know about your losses. If you are relocated temporarily, let your
agent know your temporary address.
2. Make only those repairs necessary to prevent further damage to your
home or business. This must include covering breaks in a roof, wall or
windows with plywood, canvas, or other waterproof material. Do not have
permanent repairs made without first consulting your agent. Unauthorized
repairs may not be reimbursed.
3. Following a catastrophe, insurance companies schedule adjusters so
that the most serious losses get priority treatment. Those policyholders
are the most in need.
4. Keep all receipts for expenditures you have made to repair damage or
to estimate the extent of your damage.
5. Prepare a detailed inventory of all damaged or destroyed personal
property for the adjuster. Be sure to keep a copy. Your list should
be as complete as you can make it and should include: a description of the
item (and number if more than one); date of purchase or approximate age; cost at
time of purchase; and estimated replacement cost today. Include as much of
this data as is available.
6. Collect canceled checks, invoices or other papers that will assist
the adjuster in obtaining the value of the destroyed property.
7. If you feel it is necessary, secure a detailed estimate for
permanent repairs from a reliable contractor and give it to the adjuster when he
or she arrives. Minor repair estimates should be copied and forwarded to
your agent. These smaller claims may not require an on sight inspection by
an adjuster. The estimate should contain: detailed specifications of
the proposed repairs, and detailed repair cost prices and replacement prices.
The estimate should also be accompanied by detailed photographs of the damage.
8. If immediate repairs are necessary, take photographs of the damaged
areas. These will help you with the presentation of your claim and will
assist the adjuster in the investigation of your claim.
9. Even if home or business furnishings and effects look like
"total losses", do not get rid of them until they have been examined
by an adjuster.
10. If your car has been damaged or submerged in a flood, move it to
high ground and let it dry out. Do not attempt to start or operate it
until it is thoroughly dried.
11. Wooden furniture should be cleaned as quickly as possible.
Avoid rubbing in abrasives such as ash, plaster, or wallboard particles that
have fallen on furniture surfaces.
12. Your dry cleaning establishment can help you evaluate the cleaning
or restoration costs for clothing, furs and draperies.
13. Metal objects, including guns, drapery rods and the electric motors
in home appliances should be dried and rubbed or sprayed with oil to prevent
corrosion. Radios, televisions and other electronic systems should also be
dried out, but not oiled.
14. Bedding and upholstered furniture must be dried immediately if
saturated with water. Vacuuming will remove some of the odor and grit left
by smoke damage, but these items should be separated from other possessions since
they may affect nearby items.
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What To Do About Flood Damage
1. Notify your agent. Make sure you tell your agent who insures
your home or other structure for wind loss. The adjuster working your
flood claim will need to know this information.
2. Before you enter a flooded building, make sure it is not in danger
of collapse. Let your house air to remove foul odors or escaped gas.
3. Be alert for holes in the floor, loose boards, hanging or loose
plaster, snakes and other hazards.
4. Do not smoke or use an open flame until you are sure it is safe to
do so.
5. Turn off gas at meter tank. Do not turn on the electrical
system; it may have become short circuited.
6. If it is not off, the main electrical circuit should be turned off.
Be extremely careful to stand on a dry surface and avoid touching the metal
handle of the switch box. Use a piece of heavy rubber, plastic or a piece
of dry wood to open the metal door and throw the switch off. If you have
gas service, be alert for fumes. Call your local utility if you detect any
fumes.
7. Pump or bail water out of the house and shovel out the mud while it
is moist. Give walls and floors an opportunity to dry.
8. Before the house is fully aired out, scrub all woodwork and floors
with a stiff brush. Always start washing a wall from the bottom up. Starting at the top may cause streaking.
9. Take all wooden furniture outdoors and remove all drawers and as
many moving parts as possible. Clean off all mud and dirt. Do not
leave them in the sun as they will warp.
10. Upholstered furniture, especially any which have been submerged or
badly damaged should be cleaned, dried and examined by an experienced
upholsterer.
11. Clean metal objects as soon as possible.
This is especially
true of iron, which should be cleaned with a cloth saturated with kerosene.
12. Wall-to-wall carpets should be raised to allow air to circulate.
Draperies, upholstery and clothing should be laundered.
13. You should complete temporary repairs to avoid further damage.
Keep records of expenses incurred in preventing further damage.
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