Turn Around; Don't Drown

Last week was about as wet and wild of a week as we can handle. In particular, Wednesday night was rather insane. It is not all that common to get over 7 inches of rain in a single night, but for many areas of central Iowa, this and more happened.

The pictures for this article are actually directly in front of our office. Luckily, we suffered no damage but others were not so lucky. In fact, while the office was safe and dry, many of us did get water in the basement, as did I. Remarkably, the water that came into my basement did not get there from the lack or malfunction of a sump pump. My damage was a result of tiny cracks in the basement floor. Seepage from those cracks left for a wet and smelly mess in my basement.

"But, Dan, you are an insurance agent and you have coverage for this type of situation" is probably what a lot of you are thinking. Unfortunately, since the water did NOT come through the sump pump NOR the drain, I have no coverage for this type of event. I must find a way to fix this problem without the help of insurance money. Fortunately for me, this is not the 1st time this has happened and I don't suffer any financial consequences in terms of property. I have everything that is of value on shelves and in plastic sealed tubs. However, for others, there was damage done from this. Some of the situations did merit coverage as pumps did fail. Others are like me: looking at gutter extensions and sloping dirt at more aggressive angles from the house- anything to push the water from the foundation. Then we can get to actually filling the cracks.

After a night like Wednesday night, we all experience the crash course in water tables 101 (and not the fun kind that kids play with under shade trees in the summer breezes) and what happens when the earth simply cannot handle any more water. The flash floods endangered lives and property and strangled commutes for days and weeks later. If you'd like to see what flood insurance would cost you, please feel free to contact your Absolute Agent. Keep in mind that flood policies have a 30 day waiting period before coverage becomes effective, so it is definitely something to purchase in advance. However, not even flood insurance would cover seepage.

Please remember, when you see water over the road to "TURN AROUND; DON'T DROWN." This is completely unsafe! We simply don't know where the road ends and the ditch begins and can't see any other hazards that are possibly in the road. Secondly, this will TOTAL YOUR VEHICLE as the motor will suck in water. Thirdly, do not underestimate how powerful the water is. It can easily pick the up the vehicle and carry it away. There is nothing worth risking yours and your family's lives for on the other side of that flooded road. Turn around; Don't Drown. 

Stay safe and dry, Friends!