What should I do after flood damage?

Do not re-enter a badly flooded house until you are confident it is safe, and treat all floodwater as contaminated with sewage and chemicals: gloves, boots, and wash anything it touched. Keep power off until an electrician has checked circuits that got wet. Then document everything. Photograph each room, the water line on the walls and damaged items before you move them, and keep a written list as you go. If you must discard spoiled or dangerous material before an assessor arrives, photograph it first and keep a sample where practical, such as a square of carpet.

Flood damage to the building and contents is a private insurance claim under your own policies. Storm and flood damage to insured residential land, such as slips and damage to the ground around the house, falls under the Natural Hazards Commission Toka Tū Ake. You do not need to manage two front doors: lodge with your private insurer, who handles the natural hazards land portion as well. Lodge promptly, and ask the insurer what emergency work you can do straight away; keep every receipt.

Get water out and air through as fast as you can: open windows, lift wet carpet and underlay, move soaked furniture out. Mould establishes quickly in a closed wet house. What you should not do is launch into stripping walls and ripping out linings before the insurer's assessor has agreed the scope, except where work is genuinely urgent for safety or to prevent further damage. Wet wall linings and insulation often do need to come out, but let that be a decision someone writes down. Photograph each stage of the strip-out as well, because the photos protect you if the scope is questioned later.

Significant repair work may need building consent, and flood repair brings out opportunists alongside the professionals, especially after a big regional event. Use established companies, get the scope in writing, and be wary of anyone door-knocking for deposits. Before you sign with a repair company, you can run a check on it at checkmybuilder.co.nz to see who you are dealing with. Your council's flood recovery pages list local support, silt disposal and building advice for your area.