# What To Do After a Flood: 8 First Steps | A2 Water Damage Restoration > The first 8 steps after a flood, in order: safety, shutoffs, documentation, and the calls that protect your home and your insurance claim. Source: https://www.a2waterdamage.com/blog/what-to-do-after-a-flood/ - [Home](https://www.a2waterdamage.com/) - [Blog](https://www.a2waterdamage.com/blog/) - Article Field Guide By the A2 Water Damage Restoration crew · Updated July 28, 2026 The hour after you find flood water sets the ceiling on how bad this gets. Here are the eight steps, in the order that protects people first, property second, and your insurance claim third. ## 1. People and pets out, power in question Nobody walks through standing water until you know electricity isn't in it. If water is anywhere near outlets, cords, or the panel — or you'd have to cross water to reach the panel — treat the area as live and stay out. During an active storm, stay conservative outdoors too: the National Weather Service's [guidance for during a flood](https://www.weather.gov/safety/flood-during) is blunt about how little moving water it takes to knock an adult down. ## 2. Stop the source — if it has a valve Burst pipe or failed appliance line? Close the main water shutoff. Groundwater or overland flooding has no valve, so skip to step three — but knowing *which kind of water you have* matters enormously later, because homeowners policies and flood policies split exactly on that line. ## 3. Call for extraction before cleanup Professional extraction this hour beats a weekend of fans. Water is wicking into drywall and flooring layers while you read this, and mold can establish on damp materials within a day or two. A 24/7 restoration crew brings pumping and truck-mounted extraction that removes in hours what a shop vac can't in days. ## 4. Photograph everything before you move anything Wide shots of each room, close-ups of the water line on walls, the source if visible, and every damaged item. Timestamped photos are the cheapest insurance-claim leverage that exists. Video walking the space works too. ## 5. Notify your insurer with facts, not theories Report what you found and when. Don't speculate about how long it's been happening or what you should have maintained — stick to observations and let the documentation carry the story. ## 6. Move what matters up and out Electronics, documents, photos, and anything with a wood base get lifted out of the wet zone. Furniture that must stay gets foil or blocks under the legs. Leave soaked carpet where it is — pulling it wrong spreads water further. ## 7. Start air moving — carefully If the water was clean and the power situation is safe, open windows when outdoor humidity allows and run fans *across* wet surfaces, not buried into them. If the water involved drains, sewage, or came in from outside, don't blow air at all — aerosolizing contaminated water makes things worse. That call is exactly what the pros are for. ## 8. Resist the "it looks dry" verdict Surfaces dry first; assemblies dry last. Floors that feel dry can read soaked one layer down, and that's where mold starts. Before anything gets rebuilt or re-carpeted, moisture readings — not appearances — should say dry. **This guide supports our service page:** [Flood cleanup in Ann Arbor](https://www.a2waterdamage.com/flood-cleanup/) — where the professional version of this work is explained end to end. ## Past the DIY point? No judgment — most people call us from step three. Describe what you're seeing and we'll take it from there, 24/7. [Call (734) 346-7700](tel:+17343467700) [Request help online](https://www.a2waterdamage.com/contact/)