09/14/2022
Things around your property are especially different this year in Southcentral Alaska. We have been getting hammered by rain for a couple months now and it is wrecking havoc on numerous property owners, some of it probably unnoticeable to the average homeowner.
There have been basement/crawl space flooding due to areas with high ground water becoming higher than normal, sinkholes showing up under homes, and entire yards disappearing over night in landslides. Do yourself a favor and take a minute to look around your property to make sure you have some key things addressed for the type of wet season weāre having.
Hereās a couple things we suggest to look at and continue to monitor with rain keeping up into the future:
1. Visually recognize where any water is exiting off your roof. If you donāt have rain gutters youāll need to look at the larger area that most of the water is falling on the ground. If you have gutters, locate the drain locations around your home.
2. Look at the ground area pertaining to #1 exit locations. You want to make sure NO water is being distributed next to your foundation. The ground must slope away from your house and no water should be pooling within 3 feet of your house. Rain gutter exits ideally shouldnāt exit in one location for the entire house. Ideally, again, they should exit at least 5 feet away from your home (this is sometimes difficult to do) with suitable material such as drain rock that can drain water in a fan like manner. We realize most homes just have a drain on top of the grass. This is fine if the surface grade is subtle and not steep. For homes on higher ground with steep slopes, do NOT have your roof water drain in one area. This centralizes the water to create possible landslide situations if the grade is steep enough to allow ground shifting to a lower area when itās saturated before gutter water even exits onto it. While you may go years without ever having issues, a rainy season like weāve been having can make all the difference in how the ground reacts to a compounded amount of water in a smaller area thatās already saturated.
3. Check all around your property for ground indentations/sinking, surface/asphalt/concrete cracks, or any indication that something is developing that wasnāt previously there. If you notice something new, chances are you can catch a problem before it develops into a larger problem. An example could also be a tree leaning over further or drooping more than it was previously. We have seen this year that water has saturated a treeās base so much that it fell over with very little wind. This can be a problem if if it is in striking distance to a structure or asset you own.
4. Check the interior foundation of your home. Look at your homes crawl space/basement for any water issues such as wet concrete or wood, visible pooling water, or anything that may seem to not look right. We have already seen sinkholes this year developing in this area of the home. Look for unusual ground Indentations. If there is a ground indentation, search to see if it might be the area for a sump pump or if itās just an area where the ground is āsinkingā. In cases where homes are in high ground water areas, having a sump pump is common and you NEED to know where its location is. If the pump stops pumping water out of your crawl space, you donāt want to cause flood damage to your home. This can be a device that if not checked, can cause thousands of dollars in damage. If you have a sump pump, recognize the frequency of it cycling on and monitor it more often during back to back rainy days.
There are many things to look at that we donāt have listed but these are the major things we are seeing common across all of Southcentral that could help you property owners during this time of extreme rain accumulation.
Have some questions or desire a little insight? Call us at 907-243-5845, weād love to help š
