Flooding and Staying Safe

4/11/2019 (Permalink)

Deep East Texas is prone to the yearly flood situation and as we have seen with the past few years, hurricanes are always a concern to bring heavy amounts of rain in our direction.

In the event that your home has flooded, it is strictly important to conduct a list of safety checks before returning inside.  The Department of Housing and Urban Development has produced an in-depth document outlining these safety steps.  Some steps include:

• Checking the roof for dips across the surface
• Checking external walls to determine if they are no longer plum
• Checking the foundation from the outside to see if it has been damaged
• Making sure electricity and gas have been shut off

If flood waters do reach inside your home, they can cause multiple safety hazards and threats. Mold is a real possibility and a valid concern for your personal safety. And if you have an older home, there is also the risk of lead or asbestos contamination. Flood water contains multiple health hazards and just because the visible water is gone, it doesn’t mean the contaminants are no longer a threat.

Checking on your home after a flooding event is, obviously, natural. But even just a few moments of exposure can have significant risks for you health. At SERVPRO of Lufkin/ S. Nacogdoches County, we provide emergency water disaster services for all of Deep East Texas. We have given our mitigation specialists extensive training for safely entering these types of situations and for getting the remediation process started.  It is our hope you never have to experience this type of natural disaster or other types of water damages but if you do, we are a phone call away at (936) 559-0404 and are always ready to help.