Water extraction and drying for Suffolk homes that flooded even though the flood map did not show them at risk.
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Flooding outside the mapped floodplain is water damage to a building that the official flood map did not identify as being at risk. In Virginia, many of the roughly 2,000 homes flooded during Hurricane Matthew were outside the mapped floodplain. Suffolk Water Damage Restoration sends a local crew, as soon as one is free, to measure and dry the structure whatever the map says.
A flood map is a planning tool, and it is drawn from models of how water would move in a particular storm. It does not describe every path water can take. When a storm drops heavy rain on saturated ground, water can find its way to a house from the street, the storm drain, the yard or the roof, and the house may be well outside the line the map draws. Virginia Emergency Management found that many of the roughly 2,000 homes flooded across the state in Hurricane Matthew were outside the mapped floodplain.
That finding changes how a homeowner should think about risk. A house that has never flooded, that is not on the river and that is not on a creek may still take water. Suffolk homes are no exception, because a storm can push water into the city from several directions at once. The question is not only whether the map shows a risk, but whether this storm, on this ground, found a way in.
For a cleanup, the map is the wrong place to start. The technician begins with the water that is in the house and works out where it came from and how far it reached. Suffolk Water Damage Restoration does not decide who calls based on the map. A call from outside the mapped floodplain gets the same readings, the same drying plan and the same written record as a call from inside it.
Do not wade through a flooded street or yard to reach your house, and do not enter a house while standing water is in the rooms. Water outside a home can hide holes, debris and live wires. Shut off power at the panel only if you can do so from a dry place, and do not run a generator indoors or near a window. Leave the house and call if you smell gas.
The technician asks where the water first appeared, and then checks each possible entry point: doors, windows, vents, the foundation, the garage, the drain and the roof. The entry point decides where the readings start, and it is recorded so the insurer can follow the same route.
Water that is still in the house is pumped or vacuumed out, starting at the lowest point. The crew keeps the wet area clear so the water is moved out of the building rather than across the next room, and it checks for hazards before work continues.
Moisture readings are taken at the same heights and in the same rooms the water reached. Outside-floodplain water often takes the path of least resistance, which can be a wall cavity, a crawl space or a stairwell, so the crew does not stop at the first wet area it finds.
Equipment is placed to dry the materials that read wet. Readings are taken at each visit, and the equipment stays in place until each material reaches its target. The technician explains any material that cannot be dried and needs to come out, and that decision is made before the removal.
A written log, photographs before and after each stage, and the entry point record are given to the homeowner. These records show the insurer how the water moved and how the drying was done, and they are kept in a form the homeowner can share directly.
Yes. A flood map shows the areas expected to flood in certain storms, but water can reach houses outside those areas through drains, saturated ground, garages and low openings. Virginia Emergency Management found that many of the homes flooded in Matthew were outside the mapped floodplain.
The map is drawn from models of how a river or coast would flood, and it may not show what happens when a city's drains are overwhelmed or the ground is already full of water. A house can take water from the street or the yard even if the nearest river or creek is some distance away.
The practical point for a homeowner is that the map is one piece of information and not a guarantee. Ask about entry points rather than about the map alone, and check the low spots, the drains and the openings in your own house, because they decide how water would reach you.
Floodwater rarely follows a single line. It moves along streets, through drains, under thresholds and across saturated yards, and a storm can overwhelm the drainage system long before a river reaches a house. The map does not capture these paths in every case.
Heavy rain on ground that is already wet cannot soak in, so the water runs off into the nearest low point. If that point is a drain that is full, the water finds another route. Streets that carry water toward a house, or a yard that slopes toward the foundation, can become a path even without a river nearby.
Older drainage systems, paved surfaces and altered landscaping can all change how water moves. The map is not designed to track those local changes, which is why a technician looks at the house and the ground around it rather than relying on the map.
That depends on your policy. Many standard homeowner policies generally exclude flood water from rising surface water, while water that enters through a storm-created opening may be treated differently. Read your policy and ask your insurer directly, because the outcome depends on the wording.
The distinction between flood water and other water is often the central question in a claim, and it is decided by your policy and the insurer, not by the crew. A technician can record the source and the entry point clearly, which helps the insurer make its decision.
If a claim is denied or stalls, try to resolve the matter with the company or agent first. If the problem remains, the Virginia Bureau of Insurance, part of the State Corporation Commission, accepts homeowner complaints. This page does not state what any particular policy pays.
Call for water extraction and drying, keep out of standing water, and photograph the entry points and the damage before anything is moved. Do not assume the map was right, and do not assume the water is gone just because the surface looks dry.
Start by making the building safe, shutting off the power at the panel if you can reach it safely, and keeping children and pets away from the water. Then look for the entry point. Note whether the water came in at a door, a window, a vent, a drain or through the ground.
Call the line and describe the entry point as well as the rooms that are wet. A crew that knows where the water came in can take readings in the right places, and the readings are the best evidence of what has happened to the house.
A crew measures the crawl space, the cellar and the slab edge along with the living space, because water that rises from the ground can wet materials that look dry from above. Drying is planned around the lowest materials first.
Water that comes up from saturated ground often enters at the foundation and works its way up through the subfloor and the bottom of the walls. The crew checks the sill plate, the joists and the wall base, and it records the readings at each level.
The drying plan follows the water upward. Equipment is set low in the room and at the wall base, and the crew checks the upper walls only after the lower materials have begun to respond. A dry floor does not prove a dry structure, and the readings show when the whole building has reached its target.
When a storm drain cannot take the rain, it can push water back up through a yard drain, a floor drain or the lowest fixture in the house. The water is often considered contaminated, and the crew treats it that way. The technician checks the drain, the floor around it and the walls nearest to it.
Storm water that enters through a garage door, a garage floor or the connection between the garage and the house often runs into the living space. The garage floor can be wet for a long time after the water has gone, and the crew checks the wall between the garage and the rest of the house closely.
When the ground around a house holds more water than it can drain, the pressure can push water through cracks, joints and the cellar floor. The water may appear slowly and in small amounts, so it is often noticed late. The crew measures the lowest wall and the floor edge.
A low threshold or a door sill sometimes lets a shallow flow of yard water into the house, even when the yard looks dry in the morning. The water spreads along the floor and under the baseboard, and the crew reads the wall at the threshold and the floor beyond it.
Suffolk's streets and drains take a great deal of rain in a storm, and when they fill, the water finds other routes into the city's houses. A home that is not near the Nansemond River or a creek can still take water from the street, from a backed-up storm drain or from saturated yards that slope toward the foundation.
The report that many of the roughly 2,000 Virginia homes flooded in Matthew were outside the mapped floodplain is a statewide finding. It is not a count for Suffolk, and this page does not claim one. It does mean that the flood map should not be the only guide to whether a home is at risk during a storm.
In a city where some streets are close to the water and others are not, the house that floods is not always the one closest to the river. A technician asks the questions that matter for each home, including where the water came from, which way it moved and which rooms it reached.
If it's an emergency, call now. For non-urgent flooding outside the mapped floodplain, send the form and we'll call you back.
Not sure if you're covered? Check your ZIP code.
Water extraction and drying for Suffolk homes flooded by the Nansemond River or by heavy rain over the streets.
Water extraction and drying for Suffolk homes and businesses hit by fast-rising creek water after heavy rain.
Extraction, moisture mapping and drying for Suffolk homes flooded by a hurricane or a tropical storm.
Moisture readings and drying for crawl spaces and cellars that took storm, flood or groundwater in a Suffolk home.
The Nansemond River runs through Suffolk, and when it rises during a storm it can flood low ground and reach homes.
Hurricane Matthew in October 2016 flooded homes across Virginia, and many of the roughly 2,000 homes flooded statewide were outside the mapped floodplain, according to Virginia Emergency Management.
A Virginia homeowner whose water damage claim has stalled or been denied should first try to resolve it with the insurer or the agent.
Flood response for homes in Isle of Wight County starts with safety, then water removal, readings and a drying plan measured to targets.
Flood maps show risk for specific storms and specific sources, while water can reach a house by many routes. Storm drains, saturated ground, garage openings and low thresholds can all bring water in outside the mapped area. The technician finds the route that applies to your house.
Yes. The crew uses the same readings, the same drying targets and the same written record for every call, whether or not a map shows a risk. The house is what decides the work, not the map.
The technician looks for the entry point by checking doors, windows, vents, the foundation, the garage and the drains, and by asking where the water first appeared. Photographs taken early help, and so does a note of the time the water appeared.
No price is given over the phone, and the price is explained and approved on site. The scope depends on the water, the materials and the readings, not on the flood map. Ask for the scope in writing before work starts.
It can. When a storm drain or a yard drain backs up, water can come up through a floor drain, a basement drain or the lowest fixture. The water is then handled as contaminated, and the drain and the floor around it are checked first.
Ask whether your policy covers the source of the water, whether the entry point matters to the claim, and what documentation the insurer needs. Keep the crew's readings and photographs, and ask the insurer to put its decision in writing. The insurer and your policy decide the claim.