How to salvage belongings after natural disasters

Natural disasters are, unfortunately, a part of life for some of us. No matter what you do, you are always running a risk that a natural disaster will occur near you. One time, after a disaster in Framingham, there was a real need for junk removal Framingham MA because there was so much debris around. People just did not know how to salvage belongings after natural disasters. And who can blame them? After all, your life and the life of those dearest to you are, of course, the number one priority.

However, you can try and educate yourself a bit more about natural disasters and salvaging items. That way if you end up in such an unfortunate situation, you might be better off.

Salvage Belongings After Natural Disaster – Know The Risks!

The first thing to do is to know what kind of risks are in your area. Each area has a specific risk of a certain natural disaster. The best thing to do is to ask your moving company about them. For example, if you are moving to Massachusetts, you will ask your Massachusetts movers. Simple as that! There are a few major natural disasters that you need to assess the risks for and they are:

• Flooding
• Tornadoes
• Wildfires
• Earthquakes
• Hurricanes

Flooding

While water may be dubbed “the elixir of life”, too much water is definitely a bad thing. If you live in an area that is prone to flooding, you need to be aware of it. The best way to check if your area is in a known flood zone is to visit the FEMA website and check out the flood map. If you are in such zone then the best way to salvage your belongings after a natural disaster such as a flood is to prepare accordingly.

You need to have water-resistant items in your home, for starters. Everything that can be absolutely ruined by water is a risk. Of course, you can’t really have all of the items that are waterproof in your home but you can at least plan around that fact. If it can be waterproof, it needs to be waterproof. It will be much easier to salvage your stuff if they are not completely ruined by the flood.

Salvage Belongings After Natural Disaster – Tornadoes

Tornadoes are unpredictable and can happen more or less anywhere. However, there are areas with greater risk than others. Again, you can ask your movers about the area. Additionally, you can check online if the area you are moving into is known for tornadoes. There are some areas that have them quite frequently!

Earthquakes

The best thing to do in an area that is prone to earthquakes is to “nail everything down”. This means that you will anchor your furniture and not leave anything on high shelves. As for assessing risk, you can go to FEMA again and review their earthquake maps. By doing so, you will figure out the risk factor of your area, where earthquakes are concerned.

How to Salvage Belongings After Natural Disasters Such As Hurricanes!

Hurricanes are a hazard in coastal places. If you live in some of the coastal places, you should know how to salvage valuables after a hurricane too. You need to have a plan of action when it comes to hurricanes if you are living in such an area. They can bring tornadoes and flooding with them, as well. All of that makes salvage your belongings after natural disasters extremely tricky. The best way to deal with this is to prepare beforehand. You can label your items as “pick me up first” and even color code them by order of importance.

Prepare and protect Valuables before A disaster

After identifying the risks, it is time to make some preparation. While money is always an issue, of course, investing some into making your home more “disaster-proof” will go a long way towards mitigating the damage of natural disasters. So how can you do this?

Well, first off, you need to know what are the weaknesses of your home. If you have a really shoddy roof or windows that are not fitting properly, that is your first cue. Carefully examine your home and figure out what its weaknesses are.

Then you need to know where all the valves are. It is absolutely critical that you know where to turn off electricity, water, and gas and that you can do it in a pinch. Familiarize yourself with these ahead of the natural disaster. Also, regularly inspect your electrical and plumbing installations. Repair when necessary.

One of the things that most homeowners do is leave a crack or a tear “for later”. You do not want to do this if you are in a risk area. Every crack is a potential disaster. Repair them as soon as you sport them. Do not put off this task!

If you have smoke detectors, make sure that they have good batteries. You also need to have fire extinguishers on each floor, as well as the garage and kitchen and any other large heat sources.

Salvage Belongings After Natural Disaster – Get Insurance

However, even with the best of preparation, natural disasters are, well, disasters. Things are not going well if one of those strikes. While it will not help you salvage your original items, having proper insurance will definitely help in replacing them (fixing walls, wooden floor removals, etc.). In some areas, it is virtually impossible to salvage anything after a disaster and that is where insurance comes in play.

Even if you manage to salvage belongings after natural disasters, there will still be items that you could not bring with you. And insurance will cover those items. Just make sure to make photos of everything before the disaster. This will help both you and your insurance company when it comes to assessing the damage.

With natural disasters, the most important thing is that you are safe. Your items, no matter how valuable, can simply not compare.