AMARILLO, Texas (KFDA) – Some people may be concerned about damage to their home or property following last night’s heavy rain event.
Insurance agents want to remind residents of the importance of having flood insurance, as most home insurance doesn’t cover damage from floods after a storm.
Last night more than 80 homes were impacted by the rain.
“Total water extractions, probably about 50 actual jobs – most of those are complexes so maybe 80 apartments total plus another you know 30 residentials and some commercial businesses as well,” says Site Manager for Amarillo’s Carpet Tech, Colton Long.
The job to clean up all that damage started early this morning.
“We’ll go in there, we’ll extract all the water, we will sanitize, we will remove any bad, any wet building material. Rain water is the opposite of clean it is very gross so we need to get in their disinfect, get all the bad out,” says Long.
According to the Texas Department of Insurance, 60% of all U.S. flood damage happens in low risk areas such as the Panhandle, and even the smallest amount of water can cause damage to your home.
With all the damage that occurred last night across Amarillo, insurance agents wants to encourage homeowners and renters to look into getting a flood insurance policy through their home insurance agent.
“A lot of people think, ‘Oh flood insurance, I don’t live near a river or I don’t live near the gulf, I don’t live near a lake, why do I need it?’ So it’s not just living near a body of water, we say flooding can happen anywhere, almost every city in Texas is at risk of a flood,” says Spokesperson for Texas Department of Insurance, Mistie Hinote.
A flood insurance policy can cover your home with up to $250,000. However, to keep your personal belongings covered, you will have to take out a separate flood policy for up to $100,000.
Hinote says homeowners also need to know a flood insurance policy has a 30 day waiting period before it kicks in, so it’s important to buy before the next storm.
For more information about flood insurance, call the Texas Department of Insurance at 800-252-3439 or go to www.tdi.texas.gov.
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Alice J. Roden started working for Trending Insurance News at the end of 2021. Alice grew up in Salt Lake City, UT. A writer with a vast insurance industry background Alice has help with several of the biggest insurance companies. Before joining Trending Insurance News, Alice briefly worked as a freelance journalist for several radio stations. She covers home, renters and other property insurance stories.