Basement Flooding? Several Things You Should Know [VIDEO]

Last night at about 8:30 I noticed that I had some water starting to come up from the sewer drain.  Icky.  It started slow, but as the water continued, it just kept going and eventually got so bad that I had a foot of water in my basement floor overnight.  I know a lot of other people, including my neighbors, had it even worse. Here's a video of the water coming in.  After the rain quit for a little bit, the sewer could catch up and drain again.  But, as the rain picked up again throughout the night, it kept backing up.

Here's a few things you should do if you have standing water in your basement.

1.  Take pictures.  Depending on what kind of insurance you have, it's not a bad idea to snap a few shots as proof.

2.  Turn off the gas valves to your gas appliances.  Water heaters, boiler furnaces, anything that has a pilot light on it.  The water will put out the pilot light, and when the water goes back down, gas will leak in.  That can be dangerous!  If you need help re-lighting the pilot, call a plumber.

3.  If your sewer is backing up into your basement, don't flush the toilet.  Whatever is in your toilet, will be going down into the basement.  Wait until the water starts going back down.

4.  Unplug appliances.  It's not a bad idea to unplug washers, dryers, etc.  There is a very small chance that they could short out and charge the water.