Disaster Recovery: What You Need to Know

Linda Brasch is the Critical Repair Administrator at Northeast Texas Habitat for Humanity.?Linda joined Habitat in 2020 but before that, she spent 22 years working with a national disaster catastrophe team.?She has experience in large-scale disaster recoveries including hurricanes, tornadoes, ice storms, earthquakes, and fires.?Linda’s team were the first ones into a damaged area, after the first responders, even before homeowners in some cases, and the last ones out. She worked directly with homeowners to assist.

I sat down with Linda and asked her what the top tips people need to know after a disaster are.

·????????Make sure the necessary people have your current phone number where you can be reached during this time.?

·????????Answer your calls, even if you don’t recognize the number.?Playing phone tag slows down the process.

·????????Documentation is vital.?Take specific photos of the damage and any items disposed of during clean-up.

o??Do NOT save spoiled food for inspection.?Take photos of refrigerators and freezers and dispose of spoiled food. No one wants to see that! Or smell!

o??Mitigate further damage by removing wet/soiled carpet and pad before mold and mildew set in.

o??Clothes can be cleaned in an attempt to salvage them.?Do not leave them to ruin!

·????????Keep receipts for reimbursements such as hotels, meals, and emergency provisions.

·????????Track the amount of time and the number of people that worked on the cleanup of your property.

·????????If you stay with family or friends, discuss an amount of reimbursement that would compensate them for additional food, utilities, laundry, etc. for the time (number of days) you are there. “Most people think because their family/friend isn’t charging them, they can’t claim it, but they should,” says Linda.

·????????If you’ve lost everything the insurance company will ask for an itemized list of everything you lost, its value, and age.?Get a tabbed spiral notebook and designate each tab to an individual room and begin your list.?Take this notebook with you when you go to the store and fill in the amounts of replacement items.??You will remember things for weeks afterward and can add to them as you do.?It’s ok to group like items together, for example, socks, 6 pairs.