Chapter Hazard Analysis

Soaking damages most household contents
oaking can cause extensive damage to household goods. Wooden furniture may become so badly warped that it cannot be used. Other furnishings such as upholstery, carpeting, mattresses, and books usually are not worth drying out and restoring. Electrical appliances and gasoline engines will not work safely until they are professionally dried and cleaned.

In short, while a building may look sound and unharmed after a flood, the waters can cause a lot of damage. As shown in the above photo, to properly clean a flooded building, the walls and floors should be stripped, cleaned, and allowed to dry before being recovered. This can take weeks and is expensive.

Damage data: The number of buildings exposed to overbank flooding is shown in the table on page 2-18. One source of building damage data is the flood studies conducted for several watersheds. In addition to providing estimates of historical damage, these studies produced predicted damage estimates.

The 1986 “Floodplain Management Study – Indian Creek and Tributaries” produced the data in the table below for the 1983 flood on Indian Creek and its tributaries. The study estimated that the watershed had average annual damage of $595,800 with 156 buildings at risk for the 100-year event. While, this includes portions of DuPage County, all property damage was located in the Kane County portion of the watershed.

Building Damage Data, 1983 Flood, Indian Creek and Tributaries