by Joseph Malek

Created on: July 02, 2008   Last Updated: April 29, 2009

Damage wise, a flooded home is as bad as the destruction caused by a tornado or a hurricane. It is true that some of your personal property might still be usable but even if your home isn't washed away those flood waters can and do cause a whole lot of damage to the framework, walls and the electrical system within your home.

In most cases, it really doesn't matter if the water that enters your home is from a fresh water source or a salt water source. Either way, the water will soak into the plaster, wall board or paneling that basically forms the interior walls of your home. The result is that sheet rock and plaster dissolves as time passes and wood in the form of planks, beams, particle board and plywood expands and warps.

Even if those flood waters don't remain within your home for an extended period of time, the almost certain back up of the sewer system that removes the waste from your home will also bring harmful bacteria into your home that will also soak into the above building materials. Killer molds then breed within the walls of your once flooded home.

The truth of the matter is that your home is nothing more than a total loss. You see, the repairs required to restore your home to its pre-flood condition might cost more than you paid for the property, and it surely would be better to demolish the structure and build a new home for yourself.

It is too bad for you if you do not have home owners' insurance or your insurance provider will not, in most cases, provide you with enough money to rebuild your home because each and every insurance provider will never admit that your home is a total loss or a health hazard caused by flood waters, in spite of the fact that heavy rains or a violent storm was the root cause for your home being flooded.

As a matter of fact, F.E.M.A. is the only insurer of property damage caused by flood waters. The cost of such flood insurance can be as high a $600.00 per year and/or depending on the amount of coverage that you do purchase. So too, in order to buy flood insurance you must seek the services of an independent insurance broker who is approved by F.E.M.A. to sell such insurance to the Public.

The proceeds that you do receive are based on their replacement cost estimate and you better forget about receiving full payment for any of your valuable collectables and/or antiques. The cost of a chair is the average cost for any chair in the market place, etc. As luck would have it, those F.E.M.A. cost estimators are truly frugal

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