How to Help Someone Whose House Flooded
If you have family, friends, or a neighbor whose house was damaged in a flood, here are ways you can support them during this time.
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Thank you for being such a supportive friend or relative by checking out this page — your willingness to help someone recovering from a flood will make a huge difference in their life!
Having your house flood can be one of the most challenging and overwhelming situations a homeowner can face. If you can assist someone in any way, whether big or small, it will surely be very appreciated. I put together this list of ideas for ways to help, from donating time or funds to providing hands-on help, offering a meal, or simply showing moral support.
Besides home flooding, businesses, especially small ones near the coast, are often vulnerable to rising waters and storm surges. For these business owners, a flood can be not only financially devastating but also emotionally overwhelming as they work to restore their livelihood. If someone you know has experienced flooding in their business, this list of ways to lend a hand can also be applied to help business owners get on the path to rebuild and recover.
This post is geared toward situations where a severe flood has made a home temporarily unlivable, but the tips here can also be helpful for smaller-scale flooding. No matter if inches or feet of water entered the structure, the cleanup is a major undertaking.
There are many ways you can help, by directly assisting with the cleanup process, offering help with the everyday tasks that can be overwhelming while dealing with cleaning out a flooded house, or providing necessities. Below I’ll discuss numerous ways you can make a positive impact for someone whose house has been flooded.
Here are practical ways to help someone after a flood, including ideas on what to say to offer comfort, and common flooding causes.
10 Ways to Help Someone After a Flood
Help with the clean up
Once water enters a home or business, all of the contents will need to be emptied out, the items sorted to be tossed or cleaned, tear out the drywall (even if only a couple of inches got in), clean all of the mud and residue off of the floors, wash any items that can be saved, and the drying out process on the walls and floors must begin. Items that can’t be saved need to be stacked in a pile outside for the insurance assessor to review before it’s put out for garbage collection. You can offer your time and effort to assist with this clean up process. Make sure to show up in appropriate clothing and footwear for this messy work.
Bring cleaning supplies
Cleaning up a flooded house requires supplies like strong garbage bags, gloves, mops, buckets, brooms, masks (everyone always mentions how awful it smells), and paper towels.
Offer to let them use your washer and dryer
If their clothing, bedding, towels, curtains, or washable rugs have come in contact with water, there will be a small window in which to wash everything before it starts mildewing and gets ruined. By offering the use of your washer and dryer, or offering to wash the items for them, they’ll have a way to save these items from needing to be replaced. This will not only save them money, but will also give the benefit of being able to have clean items to take with them to wherever they’ll be staying. Losing a home and everything in it is devastating, so by offering a way to wash their clothes, you’re helping them preserve a few belongings that might otherwise be lost forever.
Offer a place to stay
One of the biggest problems when someone’s house floods is that they have nowhere else to go. Not everyone has family nearby who they can stay with. Not everyone is fortunate enough to be able to afford an Airbnb, hotel, or rental house for an extended amount of time, and even finding one can prove challenging. Flood insurance can provide coverage for some of these costs, but it can take time to get insurance sorted out. If you’re able to offer a place for them to stay, even for a few days or a week so they can be looking for a longer term solution, that can be a huge weight off of their shoulders.
Related Post: America’s Coastal States: Populations, Shorelines, and Rising Seas Infographic
Drop off food and water
Cleaning up a flooded house is exhausting. Make sure everyone is staying well fed and hydrated by dropping off breakfast sandwiches and coffee in the morning, or sandwiches or pizza in the afternoon, plus some bottled water.
Offer to watch their kids
For families with younger children, it can be difficult to make significant progress in a flood cleanup when you’re also chasing after and caring for your young children. Offer to have the kids over to your house for a day so their parents can focus on the cleanup.
Offer to watch their pets
Without a stable home environment, it can be challenging to take care of pets. It can also be hard to find temporary housing that accepts pets. If you’re able, offer shelter for their pets either during the day while the family is working on cleaning up their house, or for a few weeks or as long as you’re able to.
Help to navigate the insurance process and to document the damage
If the person you’re helping isn’t particularly tech savvy, or is feeling overwhelmed and needs help navigating the process, you can direct them to the correct websites to sign up for any potential FEMA assistance, the phone number to call for their insurance company to get an assessor out to the property, or anything else they need help navigating. You can even offer to sit with them as they fill out the forms. They’ll also need to document everything that was damaged for insurance purposes, so you can offer to help take photos of the damage.
Give a gift card for groceries or gas
After your house floods, you’re faced with many additional expenses, some of which could be clean up supplies, home repairs, temporary housing, and replacing damaged items. Even with insurance, a homeowner is still responsible for a portion, and payout times can be lengthy. This means funds for everyday things like groceries and gas could be low. By giving a gift card for these items, you’re taking some of the stress off for how to pay for these necessities.
Offer moral support
Losing a home to a flood is devastating, in addition to having to see all of your things destroyed, some sentimental. It’s a traumatic experience, and your friend likely has a lot of overwhelming emotions and feelings. You can support them by actively listening to their worries and helping them work through their thoughts. You can start a conversation by asking them if they would like to talk about it. See below for ideas of what to say to someone who lost their house in a flood.
What to Say to Someone Who Lost Their House in a Flood
It can feel difficult to know what to say when someone is experiencing a devastating time in their life. These are some things you can say to someone who has lost their house in a flood or has experienced damage to their home from hurricane storm surge or other flooding.
- “I’m sorry that this happened.”
- “I don’t know what to say, but I’ll be here to support you as you navigate this.”
- “I’m here for you, you aren’t alone.”
- “Are there any errands I can run for you? I’m already going to be out, so it won’t be any trouble.”
- “I’m grateful that you’re safe.”
- “Would you like a hug?”
- “I’m ready to help. What can I do?”
- “It’s understandable to be upset, anyone would be if in this situation.”
- “You can call me anytime.”
What Are Some Common Causes of Flooding?
Flooding doesn’t just happen from hurricanes. Here are some common causes of floods that can impact a home or business:
- Hurricanes
- Pipes bursting
- Excessive rainfall
- Rivers overflowing
- Storm surges
- Tropical storms
- Nor’easters
- Snowstorms/blizzards
Unfortunately, floods have affected many lives and seem to be an increasingly common event.
Save These Ideas for How to Help Someone Whose House Flooded
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How to help someone after a flood — ways you can offer assistance to a friend, relative, or neighbor
In the aftermath of flooding, receiving support is crucial for families and small businesses trying to cope with the physical and emotional toll of their loss. For those displaced from their homes or struggling to rebuild, both practical assistance and compassion are essential during this difficult time.
Providing assistance may include donations of essentials, offering supplies to aid cleanup, lending hands-on help with recovery tasks, and being there emotionally for ongoing support. Each gesture helps as they work toward stability.
Comforting words and your presence can be impactful for those going through the aftermath of a flood, as simple gestures often provide significant comfort. Showing up with compassion and empathy can go a long way in letting them know they’re not alone.
Can you think of other ways to help someone whose house or business flooded? Share your ideas in the comments.
