"Rain rain go away come again another day...."



This is a famous line from a nursery rhyme which children sing when they want the rain to stop and play outside. Unfortunately, rhymes cannot stop and control the weather, making it impossible to avoid the problems and consequences that excessive rains might bring.

A common dilemma that we have to face when storms go into our area is flooding due to high intensity rainfall. Most of the time, the first part of the house that gets flooded when rainfall starts pouring is the basement. This happens because the basement is basically located partially or totally underneath the ground floor. This makes the basement the lowest point of the house which may be the first area where water may start to build up when excessive rain caused by storms start to pour. Eventually, a flooded basement would be the consequence of such occurrences.

We have a flooded basement, what do we do now?

After the rain has stopped and the weather goes back to normal, your priority would be to check the situation of your flooded basement. First of all, before entering the flooded basement, turn off the electricity preferably at the meter. Electricity and water is a deadly combination which can be fatal to anyone. Safety should always be the first priority.

Upon entering your flooded basement, immediately open the windows or any aperture that would allow fresh air to enter into the basement. This would release any unwanted stench that may have build up during the flooded basement's enclosure. If you have any fuel or gas valves in your basement, switch them off for combustion safety purposes.

Check your flooded basement for any structural damage that may have been caused by the flooding. Examine the outside walls for any signs of cave-ins or cracks. Minor damages, with the proper tools and information, can be repaired personally. Skilled professionals should take care of the major damages.

After this procedure, pumping out the water and cleaning your basement would be the next task.

Using a gas pump is the best option when it comes to removing the water from your flooded basement. Remove the water in a partial manner; removing the water rapidly may eventually cause the walls to push up.

After pumping out the water out of your basement, cleaning it would be your next step.

When cleaning your flooded basement, wearing gloves is a prerequisite. Get rid of soaked items and garbage that may be contaminated. Use a shovel to remove mud, dirt and debris from your basement. Clean the walls by with the use of a hose in order to remove any mud or dirt. A total sanitization of the basement would be logical.

Storms will keep on coming and it's very possible that your basement may be flooded once again. Being prepared and knowing what to do are the keys to overcoming situations like this. And I'm pretty sure that after reading this, you will be well prepared and you'll know what to do when this problem happens again.