5 Things In West Virginia Storms to Be Aware Of to Avoid $10,000s in Damages

5/25/2020 (Permalink)

$10,000 of Damage in under 12 Hours

If Coronavirus has taught us anything it’s that we should be prepared for what can (or may) go wrong in life. While Coronavirus is perhaps a one in a lifetime event, major storms are common to West Virginia, even in the Summertime.

Unfortunately it’s often not until too late that we are reminded of how expensive storms can be to family homes and commercial buildings. This late response often leads to well over $10,000 of damages and a heartbreaking outcome that can devastate a family or business (or both!).

So that you can be best prepared to avoid, or a least minimise, the damage that may be caused by a storm, we have put together 4 major things to look out for so that you can be prepared and avoid (or minimise) the heart break.

Beware of Trees Near Your Home

Are there any large trees near your home? If they fell would your home be in potential danger? If heat lightning struck would your home be in danger of the tree being on fire?

These are all very important questions to ask right now because it can be dealt with now. Remember: it’s easy to do it now. It will be harder to deal with it when it’s lying in your living room.

Call a local arborist (tree surgeon) to evaluate the likely danger and they can help you with the best line of attack. Here are a few in the local Parkersburg Area:

Nova Tree Solutions, LLC (Parkersburg & Vienna, WV)

Kiddler’s Tree Services (Marietta, OH)

Are There Any Areas That Could Create Major Leaks?

Water is a very invasive liquid that easily causes tens of thousands of dollars worth in damages within no time. Water damage can be very frustrating because it lingers. It seeps into furniture, walls and carpets, and unless eradicated professionally it can open up breeding grounds for mold.

What to do:

Conduct a proper check of your home. Are there any areas in the roof that may be a high risk of leaking and leading to attic flooding (which can lead to ceiling damage and other structural damage)? Are there any areas around the edges of your home that may result in a basement flooding?

You can either do this on your own, or ask a professional to come and look. A professional will know what to look for, because sometimes all that is needed is a small crack that can turn into a large hole after a storm.

Power Outages

This is a common one that most of us are prepared for and thankfully not a major one of concern.

What to do:

Basically; be prepared. Have some flashlights, food and warm blankets on the ready.

Move all Loose Items and Furniture Inside

If there is a storm warning please do this immediately. We cannot tell you how many times we are called out after a storm because something small has blown through a window or wall of a family home or business. Hundreds, if not thousands of damage from water damage and/or broken items that could have been easily avoided.

What to do:

Please, immediately move all these item indoors, away from wind.

Have the Proper Insurances

Prevention is always better than cure. We agree, at times a lot of people don’t like “the insurance companies” but they’re so important to stick on the side of caution: “it’s better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it.”

Everything is a risk verses reward system in this world and there are risks to our homes that (statistically) are more unlikely to happen than to happen. But the question of “what if” is always there.

We at SERVPRO always urge our community to lean towards being safer. Lean towards risk reduction because we see what happens when families are not prepared for the worst. It can be devastating.

What to do:

Investigate all insurance companies and their various policies. You can reduce your premium by increasing your excess for example.

It’s very important that you know all the aspects of your insurance as well. Some contain exclusions that may effect you and if the time comes that you need to claim, you do not want to be under an exclusion clause. Please be careful. There’s risk in not having insurance, but also risk in having the wrong insurance.

We hope that this has helped shed some light into the importance of preparing. Because prior preventions prevents poor performance (outcomes). Reduce the risk and enjoy the rewards it brings.

Stay safe,

The Team at SERVPRO of Wood, Ritchie & Pleasants Counties

Available areas include Parkersburg, Vienna, Harrisville, St. Mary’s, Williamstown, Pennsboro, Belmont and the wider Mid-Ohio Valley.