Flood damage

To start with, recent survey data shows that most of the home damage occurrences happen due to floods. Floodwaters could be so strong that together with damaging the interior contents of the house like mechanical and electrical appliances they could also cause severe damage to the structural elements of the property, which is, indeed, quite worrying. Thus you need to call in help and this means professional help so that the flood-damage engineer could determine the severity of the damage and then proceed with the repair works while giving you some proper quote of the costs for the mending works.

Flood

The term flood is coined for “A general and temporary condition of partial or complete inundation of two or more acres of normally dry land area or of two or more properties (at least one of which is the policyholder’s property).” It could also be defined as “This inundation may include the overflow of inland or tidal waters, rapid accumulation of runoff, mudflow, or the collapse of land along a shore due to water that has exceeded anticipated cyclical levels.” In other words, the floodwater usually carries mud and while people believe floods only occur in coastal areas a flood might happen due to urban runoff or even bursting of city water mains.

Coastal flooding

This type of flooding is commonly linked to storms; when the storm hits the shore the water level rises and the wind pushes the waves faster to the shore. Hurricanes usually cause a great deal of
damage to the whole of the city and are primary cause to coastal flooding as well.

Riverine flooding

The second type of flooding described here stands for the overflow of rivers, lakes or even small streams as a result of heavy rainfall or quick ice melting. The actual flooding happens when the
water gets much more than the city drainage system can handle.

Urban flooding

The third type of flooding happens as a consequence of man activity, say, the building of new blocks or commercial buildings. Because of the changes made there could be a decrease of the
capacity the city’s drainage system could handle leading to the overflow of that very system.

Flood-damaged structures of buildings

That’s the worst thing, I should say. It really doesn’t matter what the flooding is caused by, the important thing is the result – the flooded building with some damaged structural elements. In general, what flooding does is the physical forces of floodwaters scouring soil from around and below the foundation unit causing the unstability of the whole structure of the building, which is something frightening. Besides while floodwater levels rise, the water on the exterior acts inwards against the walls of the building and the effect could be worsened by indoor floodwater trying to escape and again putting pressure on the wall structures. What actually damages the building is the elevation difference between the interior and exterior water levels. Thus in a “leaky” building there could be a rather low potential for damage. Still, in an effort to help, the local fire unit or nation guard could worsen the situation by using high-capacity pumps to empty the basements. A problematic issue could occur if the soil outside is heavily saturated hence the lateral pressures connected to saturated soils can exceed the structural capacity of the building walls, especially the basement ones, leading to a inward collapse, cracking or movement of the floor. Still some sandy and soft soils are in general more prone to scour than stiff clay ones. Last but not least, erosion is also a major factor; if the soils are eroded from around and below the foundation system, the capacity of this foundation is naturally reduced hence again leading to the above mentioned horrific results.

Thus you should definitely call for a flood-damage engineer to inspect the damage and take immediate measures otherwise the effects could be disastrous; be aware – your life could be at danger. Save your family by acting on the spur of the moment. Don’t waste precious time!

Being saved by the engineer

In case of a flood event, imagine you have already called for a flood-damage engineer and he/she has already arrived; of course, you already know these are the best first and foremost steps to take. OK, so firstly the professional on site might be expected to act as a forensic engineer and it is best to do that, if they have the experience, since they need to establish the origin of the damage to the property. Then, the second half of this two-fold role the engineer is undertaking is to assess the extent of the flood damage and prepare some plan for immediate repair works setting off.

Besides the professional should be able to determine whether this particular condition had existed before the flood happened or not – such conditions may range from wall cracks and ceiling cracks
to tilted basement walls, say.

What’s more, it is most natural to expect the professional to provide you with a quote for the cost of the repair works but don’t be fooled, at this stage of the flood-damage investigation it is nearly impossible for now-matter-how-experienced forensic and repair engineer to do that. It’ll come still at a later stage when the claims adjuster sets in – they will establish the extent of loss at the property. Besides a claim adjuster is the person who should determine the value of the loss and the scope of repairs needed. Thus it is best to research all flood-damage repair companies in your area and check whether their staff includes the professionals enlisted above as well as a professional team of repairmen, who are to take up the most important part of the work – the actual
repairs.

So act out on the spur of the moment once a flood-damage related event has occurred at your property!