Water damage restoration efforts resulting from Flooding can make even the smartest person overwrought. After you go through a flood, you may go crazy and start buying any insurance policy that includes the words "water", "flood damage", "water damage, "water damage restoration." While most insurance agents are reputable, responsible people, there are those bad seeds that would not mind catching a quick buck off of your misery and your newly heightened fears. Arm yourself with a little bit of information regarding flood damage and insurance policies aimed at these and you can save yourself some cash and some sanity.
Not all policies are created alike, and each must be individually created for you, your home and your belongings. Not all policies will cover water damage resoration of flood damage, as we'd like. In some cases that will require a second, ancillary policy written on its own. Then again, not all policies avoid covering damages incurred during a flood, even if it does not specifically mention the word "flood" in its wording. And there are exceptions to the exclusion of the word "flood", so cover all of your concerns with your insurance agent. Do not leave the office with policy in hand until you are completely satisfied and all questions have been answered for you.
Hopefully, your insurance issues were squared away before the the water damage happened, but if not, then you will be faced with taking care of your flood damage on your own. That means that you will probably need to economize and possibly make do with some things until more funding is available to you. Of course you know that you cannot save money in the arenas of health and safety, but you can save a buck or two on the cosmetic aspects of your project.
After making sure that your home is cleaned thoroughly, you can decide what is necessary to repair or restore right now, and what things can wait. Keep in mind what your basic budget is, and do not allow yourself to get carried away. Know how much you can realistically afford for the entire project- and number each item on the list by priority. Water damage restoration for your sofa should be higher on this list than buying a new painting to hang over that water damaged piece of furniture. If the walls are flaking and peeling off or furry with mold, do you really need to be buying new throw pillows?
Once the water damage restoration on your home is taken care of, and life is basically back to normal once again, consider prevention methods for the future. If your home is in a flood prone area, the only recourse (other than moving of course) might be to have the home raised which might be beyond your current budgeting capabilities. A flood fence may stop some small amounts of water, but they are not usually attractive and will not stop a full force flood anyway. Planting a row of bushes, or low lying shrubs in front of your home might be enough to stop a foot of water or less, but again, more than that and the bushes will not even slow the water down.