How to Prepare a Flood Plain Go Bag

2/5/2021 (Permalink)

Prepare your household for when the flood water hits your area.

IF a flood hits your home, you have to act quickly – the time is of the essence to get you and your loved ones and pets to safety.

Water is literally a force of nature and there is little you can do to prevent damage from taking place – but you can prepare to minimize damage and put yourself in the best position to pick up and repair when the floodwaters subside.

If you live in a flood plain, it is worth having a ‘grab bag’ ready to go so you can simply load your family and pets into the car, grab the pre-packed essentials and get yourself to safety – everything else can be sorted out later.

Your grab bag or box should be put together around the 5 Ps of Evacuation – Personal Needs, Priceless Items, People, Prescriptions and Papers.

For your personal needs, gather essentials like clothing, toiletries, food, cash, phones, chargers and first aid supplies. Priceless items are quite self-explanatory – whatever you own that cannot be replaced. These may be sentimental rather than valuable but will be unique to your family.

People – whom are you taking responsibility for? It may seem obvious, and probably is, but does your family unit include others that may not live with you or even a vulnerable neighbor? And – of course – we count our pets as family.

Prescriptions – gather all your essential medications and any equipment, and the paperwork too - if you are away for a while you will need refills and the pharmacist will need vital information.

And finally, Paperwork – ensure you have access to all your key documents. Some, like passports and birth certificates, you should take with you. Others, in today‘s electronic world, could be stored on the cloud such as bank details, insurance policy information, and suchlike – all ready for you to start the essential calls to get your home put right for your return.

Make sure you plan ahead and remember that SERVPRO of Canton is faster to any disaster.