Prevent Flooding this Winter with a Complete Property Check
It’s crucial for you to be fully prepared for Melbourne’s wild winter storms for the safety of you and your family.
This means ensuring your home is storm ready, especially if you are living in a flood-prone area. To make it easier to get your home storm ready, we’ve provided some simple tips below.
Home Maintenance
• Make sure that you undertake roof checks on a regular basis to ensure it’s in good condition
• Clear all of your drains, gutters and downpipes
• If there are any branches close to your home, make sure you remove these
• Assess and repair any corrosion and rotting or termite-damaged timber
• Check your property for any loose items and secure these.
Home Safety
• Check if your home and contents insurance is up-to-date and offers adequate cover
• Assess your home to determine which room’s the safest, to shelter there if a storm hits
• Make sure you know how to turn off your water and power safely
• Always have a camping stove, fuel and containers of water on hand.
For Flood-prone Areas
• Always have your poisons and chemicals stored above ground level
• Assess and identify which indoor items will need to be raised or even emptied if there are flood warnings
• Have power points relocated above the flood levels from previous floods
• Make sure you have a builder assess your home for its structural integrity.
It’s also important to have a home emergency kit prepared in case of a severe winter storm. Your home emergency kit needs to have enough basic items to keep you and your family sustained for up to three days, in case you get cut off from floodwater.
What you should include in your home emergency kit:
• A home emergency plan that you and your family have drafted which also has emergency contact numbers
• Radio (must be portable and either have batteries or be a wind-up)
• A torch (must either have batteries or a be a wind up)
• Fully equipped first aid kit
• Set of gloves
• Valuable documents and also some cash sealed in waterproof bags
• Medication in case of emergencies
• Any specialised items you require for the elderly, disabled and babies
• If you have a pet, also pack pet food and medication
• Make sure you have enough drinking water and food that’s non-perishable to last for at least three days.
Additional items if you live in flood-prone areas:
• Always have a mobile phone on hand, as well as a spare battery and a charger
• Keep a change of shoes and clothes on hand
• Blankets or sleeping bags and pillows
• Extra toiletries and toilet paper
• Gas burner or a camping stove
• Store all valuables and photos in waterproof bags
• If you have children, make sure you have books and games.
If you live in a flood-prone area, it’s a good idea to invest in a building check to determine if your home has been built to Australian Safety Standards.
