Rain is still coming down and there's water on the basement floor. Here's the order that actually matters: power, the drain, photos, and why a shop vac is only the start.
Stay Out of the Water Until the Power Is Off
A flooded Burnaby basement after an atmospheric river is usually a mix of groundwater, yard runoff, and whatever was already on the floor. It is also sitting next to the furnace, the electrical panel, the washer, and a row of outlets. If you can reach the panel from a dry floor, shut off the breakers for the basement. If the panel is in the water, or you would have to wade to it, do not. Call BC Hydro and wait. People get hurt trying to unplug a freezer while standing in an inch of water. That inch is enough.
Figure Out Where the Water Is Coming From
This decides what you do in the next hour. Water sheeting in under a door or through a window well is surface water. Water bubbling up the floor drain is a sewer or storm surcharge, and you should treat it as contaminated. Water seeping through the joint where the wall meets the slab, or up through cracks in the concrete, is hydrostatic pressure from saturated soil. You cannot shop-vac your way out of that while the rain is still falling. The soil around the house is a full sponge, and it will keep pushing until the rain stops and the ground starts to drain. Knowing which one you have also matters for insurance. A drain backup and water over the sill are not the same claim.
Move What You Can Without Walking Through It
If a corner is still dry, get photos and boxes up onto a table or the stairs. Furnace manuals, tax papers, and photo albums do not survive a second night on a concrete floor. Leave soaked upholstered furniture. Dragging a wet couch up the stairs just spreads dirty water through the house. If the water is coming from the floor drain and it smells like sewage, do not sort through it at all. Porous things that touched that water are garbage: cardboard, area rugs, pillows, the bottom row of a bookcase.
A Shop Vac Is Not the Job
A wet vac is fine for a puddle you can see, on a floor you can stand on safely, after the power is handled. It does not pull water out of the carpet pad, the sill plate, or the bottom of the drywall. Those are the parts that grow mould. Concrete looks dry an hour after you vacuum it and is still holding water in the pores. If the basement is finished, plan on the pad coming out. If the water sat for more than a few hours, plan on the bottom of the walls being opened. Running a box fan at the puddle and going to bed is how people call us two weeks later about a smell.
Photograph the Water Before You Remove It
Take wide shots of each room, a shot of the drain or the crack or the window the water came through, and a shot of the waterline on the wall. Put a tape measure or a piece of paper in one frame so the depth is obvious. Insurers ask where it entered. 'The basement flooded in the rain' is a weak sentence. 'Water was coming up the floor drain at 11 p.m. and the line on the drywall is 8 inches' is a claim. Do this before the neighbour's kid helps you mop, because the evidence goes away with the water.
Call While It Is Still Wet
Extraction, air movers, and a dehumidifier that can actually drop the humidity in a cold basement need to start the same day if you can get them there. Burnaby basements stay cool and damp even after the puddle is gone, which is exactly the condition mould likes. Tell whoever you call whether it came from the drain, the walls, or the yard. If you want us out, call the number on this site. We will tell you what to shut off, what to leave alone, and how fast we can be there.
Dealing with water damage in Burnaby?
Our water damage restoration specialists are available 24/7.
Call (604) 200-3261