If your home is damaged by a serious storm, such as a flood, hurricane, or tornado, there are certain steps you should take in order to start the storm damage restoration process.

Thing #1: Establish It Is Safe to Enter Your Home

After your home has suffered damage in a serious storm, you need to make sure it is safe for you to enter your home. Make sure there are no down lines on your property. You want to avoid down lines and electrically charged water as they can cause serious injuries. If your house is open, be careful regarding wild animals that may have gotten into your home.

Wear protective gear when entering your house. Cover up your body. Wear tall boots. Wear gloves and put on a hard hat. You don't know what you are going to encounter.

Thing #2: Document Everything

Second, you need to document everything when you enter your house. Take a camera and take detailed pictures of the outside and inside.

These pictures are going to serve a few purposes. First, you can submit these pictures to your insurance company to go with your homeowner's insurance claim. Second, these pictures can be given to a storm restoration company, so they know what they are dealing with when they come to help you fix things. Third, these pictures will allow you to track the change in damage and repairs over time to your house.

Thing #3: Checking Your Home for Damage

Start by checking your roof for damage. If the roof is damaged, try to get a professional contractor in as soon as possible to put in place even a temporary fix to stop water from getting inside.

Next, check the electrical system. If any electrical items or outlets were exposed to water, turn off those items and turn off the power to those outlets until an electrician can inspect them.

Check your plumbing, and if any pipes were broken, turn off the water supply for those pipes so a bigger mess isn't made.

Thing #4: Work to Minimize Damage

Once you have documented the damage, you are going to work to stop more damage from occurring. If your roof is damaged, put a tarp over it to keep water out until a roofer can come and inspect. If any other part of your house is exposed, cover that area up with tarps as well to keep the natural elements out.

If there is water inside, use pumps to get the water out. Work to reduce the moisture in your home to prevent mold and mildew.

Thing #5: Contact a Restoration Company

You are going to want to contact a restoration company as soon as possible. A restoration company will help to both clean up the damage and to fix the damage that was done to your home after the storm. Their goal is to fix things up as quickly and as safely as possible so you can get back into your home.

If your home was damaged by a storm, make sure it is safe before you enter your home. Once you enter your home and check your home for damage, take pictures to document all the damage you see.  Work to prevent further damage to your home and get a restoration company to help you with the process of repairing your house. For more information about storm restoration for your home, contact local professionals like Perfect Home Restoration.