If your home sustained serious storm damage — or flooding or fire damage — it’s natural to feel panic and confusion. But to protect yourself, your family and your property, you must act quickly to get the problem under control.

Your safety is the primary concern, but securing your home against further damage follows a close second.

No. 1: Make Safety Your First Priority

Although you may feel inclined to try to rescue your most valuable and treasured possessions, put your and your family’s safety first.

Get out of the house and get to a safe place to avoid being struck by falling debris. Don’t walk through flooded areas of the home because water can conceal hazards such as broken glass, live electrical wires, and exposed nails. If you can do so safely, shut off the main electrical breaker, the water main and the gas supply.

Be careful outside your home as well, as downed power lines can still be live. If you smell natural gas, stay far away from the apparent source. Any standing water in the street is highly likely to be contaminated as well, so avoid coming into contact with it if at all possible. If you must wade through, don’t let the water get on your face.

No. 2: Contact an Emergency Response Disaster Restoration Expert

You have an obligation to your mortgage company and your homeowners’ insurance company to take whatever steps are necessary to protect the property from further harm or damage.

This means boarding up broken or damaged windows, doors, walls and roof structures. It also means extracting any standing water as quickly as possible to minimize the potential for mold and bacterial growth.

To accomplish these urgent tasks, contact AAA Restoration. We are an emergency disaster restoration company that specializes in rapid response remediation.

No. 3: Document the Storm Damage Fully

If you can safely do so, take photographs of the damage on the interior and exterior of your property. Your insurance company may need these images, but even if they don’t, it’s important that you have proof of the damage for your records.

That way, if your insurer balks at paying, you have photographic evidence to support your claim.

Make a list of the items you know were damaged or destroyed by wind or water, along with as much detail as possible about them. This will also come in handy when you’re preparing to file your insurance claim.

No. 4: Contact Your Insurance Company

Your homeowners’ insurance policy likely specifies how soon you must notify the carrier after storm damage occurs. But no matter what your policy states, contacting your insurance company is the best way to determine what’s covered and what the next steps are.

The disaster restoration specialists at AAA Restoration can assist you with the documentation you need to process your claim for both remediation and restoration. We understand how difficult this situation is for you and your family and we are here to help.

When disaster strikes in northern Utah, trust AAA Restoration to help you get your life back together. We use our extensive experience and state-of-the-art equipment to help families overcome the challenges of fire, flood and storm damage, restoring their homes to pre-disaster condition. Contact us any time of the day or night for immediate assistance with storm damage remediation and restoration.