Watching your lovely home being destroyed by a natural disaster can be heartbreaking. After you’ve made sure your loved ones are safe, your next thought is to check the house for damage. Natural disasters such as storms, tornadoes, hurricanes, and earthquakes can wreak immeasurable havoc on human life as well as residential structures.

When you’re surrounded by this kind of devastation, it can be extremely difficult to figure out what you need to do next. Here are seven tips that will help you remodel and recover your house without losing your mind when a natural calamity strikes.

Call in the Experts

Hurricanes and storms are often accompanied by violent winds or heavy rain. The winds and rain can cause severe storm damage to the house. This can include shattered windowpanes or cracks in the glass, debris inside the house or on the roof, damaged roof, fallen trees, etc.

Professional disaster services storm damage can help you out in a number of ways. These damage control and restoration experts can perform a quick assessment of the damage, fix items that can be salvaged by cleaning or drying, and check for hazards and unstable areas.

They can also suggest ways of limiting the damage done by the house continuing to be exposed to the elements and mitigating the loss of property. Calling in disaster recovery experts can thus let you turn your attention to the myriad other important things you need to take care of.

Take Videos and Pictures as Proof

Documenting the damage via videos and photographs can help you when you need to file a claim with your insurance or for federal aid. It also serves as a record for yourself for later. Make sure you document the damages to the house, including windows, floors, walls, and the roof.

If you have expensive household or kitchen electrical appliances, photograph the serial numbers. This can help your claim, even when you’re looking for components. Also, make sure you keep the receipts of all the repairs, components purchased, etc.

Clear Up the Debris

The debris caused by the natural disaster can be a hazard by itself. Along with esthetic and hygiene concerns, the debris and clutter can also cause people to trip and hurt themselves. So, make sure you sweep away bits of glass, slabs of concrete, or fallen trees. Also, make sure live electrical cables are taken care of.

Fix Your Basement

A basement usually takes the worst of a natural disaster such as a storm or a hurricane. Make sure you rebuild the basement with a proper drainage system made of good-quality drains, pipes, and pumps. According to experts in drain cleaning in Edmonton, drains are often clogged after storms. Therefore, calling a professional to clean the dirty gutters and check for any other damages is ideal.

This will help counter the damaging effects should the natural disaster strike again. Ensure you get rid of the mold and mildew that might have begun gathering thanks to the moisture in the basement.

Keep a Power Backup

Heavy winds or rain can sometimes make the power go off. Keeping backup power such as a generator or solar panels will make sure you won’t need to spend days and nights in the dark and with no hot water in case the power trips again.

Protect Your Home Against Future Disasters

Since you’re rebuilding, make sure you look for ways in the remodel to prevent or minimize future disasters. Look into strengthening your interior walls. Using water-resistant materials can help both by preventing water damage and by stopping the growth of mold and mildew. You can also opt for waterproof paint.

Strengthening your floors is another way to keep moisture at bay. Waterproof flooring materials such as tiles are great at keeping moisture away. You can also look into raising the floor. Water-resistant materials such as fiberglass are also extensively used in housing and construction to help prevent moisture from gathering, and to keep mold and mildew away.

Protect Your Roof

The roof can often take as much damage as the basement when a natural disaster occurs. Damage to the roof of the house can include leakages, part of the concrete broken off, cracks, and more. Putting in high-quality shingles can help the roof withstand heavy winds, rain, or flying debris. Strengthening the roof can sometimes be an expensive investment, but a sturdy roof can help prevent severe structural and other damage to the rest of the house.

Recovering your house and property after it’s been struck by a natural disaster can be a painful and long-drawn-out process. With the help of disaster recovery experts and a well-prepared plan, you can make the process much easier and far more stress-free.