Water Damage Guides · Louisiana Local Guides

Preparing Your Louisiana Home for Hurricane Season: Water Damage Prevention

Hurricane season is part of life in Louisiana, and preparing a home for it is part of looking after the home. The preparation that matters for water damage is general, practical, and worth doing before the season rather than during it, because the time to find a shut-off, clear a drain, or check a policy is not the day a storm is on its way. A prepared home is not a home that cannot be damaged, and no honest guide can promise that, but it is a home where the avoidable problems have been dealt with in advance.

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This guide explains general preparation only: checking shut-offs, clearing drains and gutters in general terms, and knowing your insurance in general terms. No claim is made here about storm or flood risk for any place, and no promise is made that preparation stops damage. The water damage restoration page describes the service when damage has happened, and the same advice applies in New Orleans and in Baton Rouge.

Check shut-offs in general terms

Checking shut-offs, in general terms, means knowing where the main water shut-off is, making sure it turns, and making sure everyone in the household knows where it is. A shut-off that works is what stops the water when a pipe bursts or a leak is found, and a shut-off that has seized up from years of not being used is no use in an emergency. Find it before the season, turn it to make sure it moves, and leave it in the position it needs to be in for normal use. If it is stiff or will not turn, that is worth dealing with before a storm rather than during one.

It is also worth knowing, in general terms, where the main power breaker is, and how to switch the power off from a dry place if that becomes necessary. Do not handle electrics in or near standing water, and do not wade through water to reach a breaker or a shut-off. If the power or the water needs to be dealt with, that is a job for the utility or a professional, and it should only be done from a dry place. The burst pipe water damage repair page covers the work that follows a burst pipe.

Clear drains and gutters in general terms

Clearing drains and gutters, in general terms, means making sure rainwater has somewhere to go, and that it is not sent down the wall of the house or into the home. Gutters blocked with leaves or debris can overflow in heavy rain, and downspouts that discharge against the wall can keep the ground beside the house wet. Clearing them before the season, and checking them again after heavy rain, is a simple step that helps rainwater to drain away from the home rather than towards it. Drains around the home deserve the same attention, in general terms, because a blocked drain can send water back towards the house.

It is worth remembering that clearing a gutter or a drain is a general maintenance step, not a promise that water will not enter the home. Heavy rain and storm water can overwhelm even a clear drainage system, and a flood can arrive from outside regardless of how well the gutters have been cleared. The flood damage cleanup page covers flood cleanup in general terms, and the emergency water removal page covers the removal stage.

Preparing Your Louisiana Home for Hurricane Season: Water Damage Prevention — Louisiana water damage guide

Know your insurance in general terms

Knowing your insurance, in general terms, means knowing what your policy covers and what it does not, before a storm rather than after one. Sudden water losses and flood losses are treated differently, in general terms, and a standard homeowners policy may address one but not the other, with flood losses often covered, where they are covered at all, by a separate flood policy. That is a general description, not a statement about any particular policy, and the details of your own policy are a matter for your insurer. Keep the policy documents somewhere safe, and know who to call if water comes in.

It is also worth knowing, in general terms, how to document damage for a claim: photographs from a safe place, notes on when the event happened and where the water came from, and a record of the work done. Keep damaged materials until the adjuster advises otherwise, in general terms, because the adjuster may need to see them. No coverage promise is made here for any property or loss, and no claim is made about eligibility or flood zones for any property.

General preparation around the home

General preparation around the home, in general terms, means dealing with the small things that can become problems in a storm: loose items that could be blown about, belongings stored on the floor in rooms where water could enter, and important documents kept somewhere safe and dry. Moving belongings away from the floor in low rooms, and keeping valuables and documents in a safe place, are simple steps that reduce what a water loss can damage, even when the water itself cannot be kept out. Those steps are worth doing before the season, when there is time to do them properly.

It is also worth having a plan for where the household will go if the home becomes uninhabitable, and for how the essentials will be managed, because that plan is easier to make before a storm than during one. A short stay with family, or a plan for where the household will sleep, is worth thinking about in advance. Homes in Lafayette and Shreveport are prepared the same way.

No promise that preparation stops damage

No promise is made here that preparation stops damage, and no claim is made about storm or flood risk for any place. A hurricane can drive rain into a home, a flood can arrive from outside, and a pipe can burst without warning, and none of those can be prevented by checking the shut-offs and clearing the gutters. What preparation does is reduce the chance that a small problem becomes a large one, and make the response faster and simpler when damage does happen. That is the most that can be claimed for it, and it is worth claiming.

The practical conclusion is straightforward: check the shut-offs, clear the drains and gutters in general terms, know your insurance in general terms, and deal with the small things around the home before the season. If damage happens, keep everyone safe, avoid contact with contaminated water, do not enter a flooded building, and call a professional. The same advice applies in Lake Charles and across Louisiana, and the water damage restoration page outlines the process that follows.

Key Takeaways

Checking shut-offs, in general terms, means knowing where the main water shut-off is, making sure it turns, and making sure everyone in the household knows where it is.
Clearing drains and gutters, in general terms, means making sure rainwater has somewhere to go, and that it is not sent down the wall of the house or into the home.
Knowing your insurance, in general terms, means knowing what your policy covers and what it does not, before a storm rather than after one.
General preparation around the home, in general terms, means dealing with the small things that can become problems in a storm: loose items that could be blown about, belongings stored on the floor in rooms where water could enter, and important documents kept somewhere safe and dry.
No promise is made here that preparation stops damage, and no claim is made about storm or flood risk for any place.

Questions About Preparing Your Louisiana Home for Hurricane Season: Water Damage Prevention

How should I prepare my home for hurricane season?

In general terms, check the shut-offs, clear the drains and gutters, know your insurance, and deal with the small things around the home before the season. No preparation can promise that damage will not happen.

What should I check before hurricane season?

The main water shut-off, the drains and gutters, and your insurance documents. Make sure the shut-off turns and everyone in the household knows where it is.

Does clearing gutters stop flood damage?

No. Clearing gutters helps rainwater drain away from the home, but heavy rain and storm water can overwhelm even a clear system, and a flood can arrive from outside regardless.

What should I do after storm water damage?

Keep everyone safe, avoid contact with contaminated water, do not enter a flooded building, and call a professional. Document the damage from a safe place in general terms.

Your Next Step

If this guide matches what you found at home, the next step is a visit — not a guess. Call and describe what you found, and the visit is arranged from what you describe. The Emergency Water Removal page explains what that service covers, and the water damage restoration page explains how the full sequence works when water has reached more than one room.

Do not enter flooded rooms while you wait, and if water is leaking, turn off the shut-off valve for that fixture where you can reach it safely from dry ground.

Keep the guides on this site bookmarked: the first guide, the signs guide, and the preparation guide cover the checks worth repeating — after moving in, and after bringing used fixtures home.

Water damage help is available across Louisiana. See water damage restoration in Breaux Bridge, LA for one local example, or find your town on the service areas page.