Water Damage Guides · Water Damage Basics

What to Do First When Your House Floods in Louisiana

A flooded house is frightening, and the first hour matters more than most people realise. Water does not sit still while you decide what to do. It spreads across floors, soaks into drywall, wicks up into furniture and finds its way under flooring and behind baseboards. The instinct is to rush in and start moving things, but the safest first move is to stop, look at the situation from dry ground, and think about what the water might be carrying before you step into it.

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This guide walks through the first steps in order: staying safe, shutting off the water if it is safe to do so, moving belongings away from the water in general terms, recording what you see, and calling a professional. It applies whether the water came from a storm, a burst pipe or a failed appliance. For homes in New Orleans and across the state, the same order holds: people first, then property. Our emergency water removal page explains what the first professional visit generally covers.

Safety first: stay out of the water

Floodwater is not safe water. It may carry sewage, chemicals, fuel and debris, and you cannot tell by looking at it. Do not wade through it, do not let children or pets near it, and do not enter a flooded building at all. A room with standing water can hide hazards you cannot see: a shifted rug, a sharp object, a submerged electrical outlet or a floor that has weakened under the weight of the water. If the water is more than ankle deep, or if you cannot see the floor beneath it, stay out.

Electrical danger is the other reason to keep your distance. Do not touch switches, outlets, appliances or cords that are in or near standing water, and do not handle electrical items while you are standing in water. If you can reach your breaker panel from a dry place and it is safe to do so, you may switch off power to the affected area, but if the panel itself is wet or you have to cross water to reach it, leave it alone and call for help. A flooded home is a job for people with the right training and equipment, not a place to improvise.

Shut the water off if it is safe to do so

If the flooding comes from inside the house, such as a burst pipe, a failed supply line or a leaking appliance, shutting off the water stops more water from arriving. The main shut-off valve is usually where the water line enters the house, often near the water meter, in a utility area or along an outside wall. Turn it clockwise until it stops. If you cannot find it, or if reaching it means crossing standing water, do not go looking for it in the dark or in the wet. Call a professional instead.

Knowing where that valve is before anything goes wrong is one of the simplest preparations a homeowner can make. Walk through your home on a dry day, find the main shut-off and the smaller valves under sinks and behind toilets, and make sure they turn. A valve that has seized up from years of sitting still is no use in an emergency. If the flooding came from outside the house, from heavy rain or rising water, there is no valve to close, and the priority shifts entirely to staying safe and getting help.

What to Do First When Your House Floods in Louisiana — Louisiana water damage guide

Move belongings away from the water if you can do so safely

Once you are safe and the water source is stopped, move what you can reach from dry ground: rugs, boxes, small furniture, electronics, important papers and anything that will be ruined by soaking. Lift items onto tables, counters or high shelves, away from the wet area. Work from the edges of the water inward, and stop the moment you have to step into standing water to reach something. No possession is worth the risk of contact with contaminated water or a hidden electrical hazard.

For furniture with legs, placing it on blocks or foil-wrapped supports can keep the legs out of shallow water while you wait for help, and opening interior doors helps air move through the house. Do not move heavy furniture through water, do not drag soaked items across dry floors, and do not pile wet things onto dry carpet. What you can do safely in the first hour is limited, and that is fine. The real work of removing water and drying the structure belongs to a water damage restoration professional with the right equipment.

Document what you see

While you wait, take photographs and short notes of the damage from a safe, dry position: the water line on the walls, the rooms affected, damaged furniture and belongings, and the apparent source of the water if you can see it. Note the time you first noticed the water and what you did in response. This record is useful when you speak to your insurer, and it helps the restoration professional understand what happened before they arrive. Keep the notes factual and brief; you are recording, not diagnosing.

Do not throw anything away before you have photographed it, unless it is a clear health hazard such as sewage-soaked material that a professional has told you to discard. Keep damaged items in one place where they can be inspected. If you have a home inventory, a list of belongings, or receipts for valuable items, gather them while you wait. Documentation done calmly in the first hour is far easier than trying to reconstruct it later, and it is one of the few useful things you can do while the professionals are on their way.

Call a professional

The final first step is to call a water damage restoration professional. Describe what happened in plain terms: where the water is, how deep it appears to be, where you think it came from, and whether anyone in the household has health concerns. A professional visit generally starts with an inspection, then water removal, then drying, and the visit is shaped by what the inspection finds rather than by a fixed script. Ask what the visit covers and what you should do, or not do, while you wait.

While you wait for help, keep everyone out of the affected rooms, keep the air moving if it is safe to open windows and doors, and do not run fans or heaters in standing water. Homes in Baton Rouge, Lafayette and across Louisiana face the same first steps, because water behaves the same way in every house. The order never changes: stay safe, stop the source if you safely can, protect what you can reach from dry ground, record what you see, and call for help.

Key Takeaways

Floodwater is not safe water.
If the flooding comes from inside the house, such as a burst pipe, a failed supply line or a leaking appliance, shutting off the water stops more water from arriving.
Once you are safe and the water source is stopped, move what you can reach from dry ground: rugs, boxes, small furniture, electronics, important papers and anything that will be ruined by soaking.
While you wait, take photographs and short notes of the damage from a safe, dry position: the water line on the walls, the rooms affected, damaged furniture and belongings, and the apparent source of the water if you can see it.
The final first step is to call a water damage restoration professional.

Questions About What to Do First When Your House Floods in Louisiana

What is the first thing to do when my house floods?

Stay safe first. Do not enter flooded rooms or wade through floodwater, and do not touch electrical items in or near standing water. If the water comes from inside the house and you can reach the main shut-off from a dry place, turn the water off. Then move belongings away from the water if you can do so safely, take photographs, and call a water damage restoration professional.

Is it safe to walk through floodwater in my house?

No. Floodwater may carry sewage, chemicals and debris, and it can hide electrical hazards and sharp objects. A floor under standing water may also be weakened. Stay out of flooded rooms, keep children and pets away, and let a professional handle the cleanup.

Should I shut off the electricity if my house floods?

Only if you can do so safely from a dry place, and only if the breaker panel itself is dry and reachable without crossing standing water. If the panel is wet, or you would have to walk through water to reach it, leave it alone and call for help. Never touch electrical equipment while standing in water.

What should I photograph after a flood?

Photograph the water line on walls, every affected room, damaged furniture and belongings, and the apparent source of the water if you can see it safely. Note the time you first noticed the water. Keep damaged items where they can be inspected, and keep your notes and photos together for your insurer and the restoration professional.

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 Abita Springs, LA for one local example, or find your town on the service areas page.