If you live in a community that is near a river or a lake, or one that has very poor drainage, then you probably experience flooding regularly. Since flooding is a regular occurrence, you will have to take measures to protect your home and your possessions so that you won't have to do any major removal or repair every time a flood comes.



Here are some things you should consider in order to mitigate flood damage to your home:

Protect your personal property

If your basement floods regularly, make sure that you don't keep any personal or valuable property there. Move your possessions to a higher floor, and store personal objects in a safe location to avoid flood damage.

Retrofit your house

Retrofitting means making changes to an existing structure to protect it from hazards. A house that has been retrofitted and tailored to withstand flooding will enable you to avoid the costs of flood damage, keep your possessions intact, and your family safe.

Retrofitting, depending on the extent and location of the flooding, can involve any of the following measures:

* Elevation - This means raising your house so that the lowest floor is above the flood level.

* Wet flood proofing - Wet flood proofing is making the uninhabited portions of your home resistant to flood damage, and allowing the water to enter during floods.

* Relocation - Relocation means moving your entire house to a higher ground that is less flood-prone.

* Dry flood proofing - This means sealing your house to prevent water from the flood from entering.

* Levees and floodwalls - These are walls that you build around your house to hold back the water.

* Demolition - This means tearing down your house and rebuilding it properly, either on the same property or somewhere else.

Protect your utilities and service equipment

Flooding can cause flood damage to equipment such as water heaters, electric meters, and furnaces. You can do the following to ensure that your service equipment isn't inundated with water when the flood comes:

Raise or flood proof your heating, ventilation, and cooling equipment

One way of protecting your HVAC equipment is to move it to another location, such as from the basement to an upper floor or the attic. Alternatively, you can build a concrete floodwall around it.

Raise the main electric switch box, electric outlets, switches, light sockets, wiring, and baseboard heaters

By raising your electrical system components, you can avoid flood damage, risks of a fire, and the cost of having to replace them. An undamaged electrical system will allow you to resume your normal life within a short period after the flooding.

Electrical systems should be placed at least 1 foot above the base flood level for your location. If your fuse box is old, consider having it replaced with a modern circuit breaker system.

Elevate your washer and dryer

You can protect your washer and dryer by elevating it to a level that is at least 1 foot above the projected flood level. This can be done by placing it on a masonry platform, or on a pressure-treated wood platform that is high enough so that the floodwaters won't reach it.

Anchor your fuel tanks

Unanchored fuel tanks, when hit by floodwaters, can be swept by the water flow and may hit the walls. Since these contain gas inside, unnecessary movement of the tank may cause fires when they are handled improperly.

One way to anchor a fuel tank is to attach it to a concrete slab that is heavy enough to resist the force of the flood. You can also use straps to tie it down to ground anchors.

One step ahead

If the area where you live is prone to flooding, keeping a step ahead by making structural changes to your home will help you mitigate, if not avoid, flood damage, risks to your health, and any other risks such as fires. Structural changes will cost you, but if flooding is a regular occurrence, they may be worth the expense.