What Can Be Done About Hurricane-Related Flooding Damage in Plantation?

4/19/2020 (Permalink)

Make sure to have SERVPRO on speed dial in case your property is affected by a hurricane. We arrive on the scene quickly and ready to mitigate.

In Plantation, It Always Pays to Prepare Your Home for Hurricanes and to Know Who to Call After Disaster Strikes 

Considering its year-round tropical weather and easy access to South Florida’s main attractions, Plantation often seems like the perfect place to live.  However, there is a price to pay for these great lifestyle benefits. This cost comes in the form of the yearly hurricane season, lasting from June 1st through November, which routinely causes severe flooding damage to the homes of area residents like you.  The low-lying, swampy nature of this region, coupled with the network of canals that crisscrosses it, only enhances this hurricane-related flooding. The only ways to handle this risk are to properly prepare your home for these storms as soon as you learn of their approach and by contacting the right cleaning and restoration professionals afterward.                

What Can You Do to Mitigate Hurricane-Related Flood Damage in Plantation?

The first step you can take to mitigate hurricane-related flooding damage in Plantation is to properly prepare your home prior to a storm’s arrival.  Generally, in South Florida, weather forecasts give us anywhere from three days to a week’s warning of an approaching tropical storm or hurricane’s landfall.  During this warning period, depending on the severity of the storm, you should:

• Find the shutoff switches/valves to your electricity, gas, and water.  Switch these off before you leave, so that additional damage to your property is prevented and others are protected from potential electrical shocks or gas explosions.
• Ensure that all sump pumps and drains are in good working order.  By doing this, you help prevent water from entering your home.
• Make sure to properly repair and seal any foundation cracks or damage.  In doing so, you protect your ground floor from flood water penetration.
• Inspect your roof for missing and damaged tiles or shingles.  By replacing these, roof leaks and more extensive water damage may be avoided.
• Be certain your gutters are clean because clogged gutters can lead to wall and roof leaks.
• Close and secure your storm shutters, or cover your windows with plywood.  This helps protect your windows from flying debris and storm winds.
• Move or tie down outdoor objects that could become damaging projectiles in a storm.
• Trim nearby trees that could fall on, drop branches on, or otherwise damage your home.  This should reduce the potential for roof damage and associated water leaks.   
• Place sandbags around your home to divert flood waters away from it.

As soon as the storm passes and you return home, call an experienced flood damage mitigation and restoration company in Plantation like SERVPRO.  We are always ready to answer your call, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. Oftentimes, our technicians can be on-site within four hours of your call.  The flood damage-related services we offer include:  

• Water extractions of all magnitudes
• Hazardous water and waste removal and disposal
• Professional cleaning and disinfecting that prevents harmful microorganism growth and dry rot
• Water damage inspections using high-tech moisture meters and sensors
• Expert drying of your home’s interior and contents, using dehumidifiers, air movers, injectidry systems, and other equipment
• Professional odor removal with sprayers and state-of-the-art foggers

How Does SERVPRO Mitigate Flood Damage and Restore Affected Homes?

While nothing is 100% certain, SERVPRO is often able to produce remarkable results for homeowners in Plantation.  Generally, after our technicians arrive on-site and assess the situation, they:

• Extract standing water with extractors and submersible pumps

• Enter your house and spray EPA-approved disinfectants on affected surfaces

• Remove storm debris and mud with rakes and shovels

• Safely discard all materials contaminated by floodwaters and pressure wash and disinfect impacted structural elements

• Dry your home’s interiors, walls, and ceilings with dehumidifiers, air movers, and injectidry systems

• Determine when the job has been completed by measuring moisture levels with meters and sensors

• Disinfect and deodorize your house with advanced foggers

What are the Benefits of SERVPRO’s Service?

SERVPRO’s service can benefit you these key ways:

• It could save your home and many of your possessions
• Our technicians are often able to limit the severity of your flood damage
• We help prevent harmful microbial growth and eliminate unpleasant odors
• We can often save you time and money by always first attempting to restore things, rather than simply replacing everything

Living in Plantation can seem like a dream, but hurricanes and the flooding they cause are a yearly threat here.  Make sure you plan ahead for them and the other destructive weather events common to this area. Be sure to check your insurance coverage well in advance of hurricane season to ensure that you are properly covered for all likely weather-related issues.  When disaster does eventually strike, call SERVPRO of Ft. Lauderdale South at (954) 776-2000 for assistance.