Spring Flooding: What You Can Do to Protect Your Property
If your property is located in an area prone to flooding, or you just want to be proactive, there are several things you can do to prepare for a flood.
Proactive steps you can take to reduce the risk of flooding:
- Store valuables and important items or documents in water-tight containers or in higher places, like on a tall shelf or upper floor.
- Clean your gutters regularly.
- Keep nearby storm drains clear of debris.
- In the winter, clear snow at least 1 to 1.5 metres away from your home’s foundation.
Additional ways to protect your property:
- Raise large appliances, furnaces, hot water heaters, and electrical panels onto wood or cement blocks above the potential water level (if an item cannot be raised, consider anchoring it and protecting it with a flood wall or shield).
- Anchor any oil tanks or fuel supplies to the floor.
- Install back flow valves on basement floor drains, washing machine drains, toilets and sink drains.
- Install tiled floors with waterproof adhesive and grout.
- Raise electrical sockets on the ground floor of your home.
- Apply weather protection sealant around basement windows and the base of ground-level doors.
- Install a sump pump.
- Install permeable paving surfaces for sidewalks and driveways.
- Install permanent safeguards, such as self-closing flood barriers, designed to keep water out of your home for as long as possible.
- Enhance your landscaping so water drains away from your foundation.
- Install flood-resistant drywall and exterior door.