Tips for upcoming rainy season

With summer and the accompanying wet weather conditions just around the corner, residents are being given tips on how to manage and minimise damage to their property during a flood.

These tips come from Attie Blaauw, head of personal lines underwriting at Santam, who highlighted some of the dangers homeowners faced, such as those with walled homes during flood season.

“Most walled homes with poor drainage face problems with water build-up which can often compromise foundations,” he said.

“This, in turn, can cause residential walls to sag and, in extreme cases, collapse [and these] collapsed walls could cause further damage to your property, vehicles or even people.”

He then went on to provide useful tips to manage and minimise damage to property and valuables, which included ensuring that gutters and the drain were cleared out well ahead of time. This was especially important for homes located on a slope, as they need an unrestricted outflow of water.

“Another tip would be to move furniture, electronic equipment and valuables out of harm’s way or possibly lift them off the floor,” he stressed.

He added that to avoid future damage from floods, including renovations to the house and ensuring electrical points are placed 300mm above expected flood levels to avoid potential damage.

Blaauw concluded by also urging residents to contact their insurer, who will help in taking the necessary steps to protect their property and valuables. “Homeowners are encouraged to assess the measures in place to protect their properties and can speak to their insurer to assist,” he said.

Santam is a leading general insurance company in South Africa focused on providing a diverse range of general insurance products and services.

More tips for homeowners during heavy rains:

• Shut off electricity at the main distribution board.
• If you’re using sandbags, ensure that cloth is installed between the layers. The cloth becomes saturated and forms a plug in between the bags, thereby not allowing the water through.
• The slope of your property can direct water to or from your house. Observe where the water accumulates and flows and, where possible, place drainage grids at the catchment points with better and deeper drainage ports. Make sure that the outflow from the roof gets to the street as quickly as possible.