Storms That Cause Wet Basements
Natural calamities can strike anytime and bring disaster to many homes. As these are uncontrollable forces of nature, the best thing you can do is to prepare for whatever havoc it may bring to your household. The part of your house that is apparently one of the most affected is the basement. The worst that can happen to your basement is when it gets penetrated with waters caused by natural calamities. Two most common catastrophes that bring contaminated water to your basement are heavy rainfall and thunderstorms.
Heavy Rainfall or Rainstorm
A heavy rainstorm can definitely cause wet basements, especially to houses in the low-lying urban areas. A rainstorm is characterized by heavy outpouring of rain for a duration of time. A short duration of heavy rainfall is probably not as bad as a prolonged duration of light but constant rainfall. The reason for this is that your basement is more prone to severe damage when the instance of rainfall persists for a number of days or weeks. Moreover, you cannot start cleaning up your basement unless the rain stops pouring, not to mention the time you need to wait for the flood waters to subside and dry up. This makes it easy for contamination of mold, bacteria, and other germ-carrying microbes to thrive and populate rapidly.
Thunderstorms
Thunderstorms are accompanied by heavy gusts of wind and heavy downpour of rain but this type of natural disaster does not last long. Nevertheless, an instance of thunderstorm still causes your basement to become wet. Floodwater is easy to penetrate the basement because it is obviously the lowest portion of the house. A house that is situated at an elevated portion of the area may not really experience the complete damage that thunderstorm can bring to the basements of houses.
Houses in plain areas would have to bear an even greater damage not only to wet basements but also to the living room of the house. Heavy outpouring of rain during a thunderstorm can cause the waters to rapidly rise, affecting not just the basement but the house flooring.
Sewage Pollution
This is not a natural disaster but it is one of the common results of such calamities. In the urban area, for example, sewage water from the main sewage system may back up due to an overwhelming downpour of nonstop rain. The sewage backup can occur into the homes and cause significant damage. Since most pipe fixtures can be found in the basement, a possible sewage back up may occur in the basement. So, checking your basement every now and then for any probable problems is a wise thing to do, particularly during instances of heavy rainfall and thunderstorm.