If your basement is flooding right now, the order you do things in matters as much as speed. First, kill the power to the basement at the breaker so you’re not wading into water that could be live, then shut off the main water supply if the source might be a burst pipe. Next, lift anything valuable or electrical off the floor, get water moving out with a pump or shop vac, and photograph everything before you move or toss it. Only once it’s contained should you call your insurer, and those photos will do most of the talking. What’s the first step you’d tell someone standing in an inch of water, and did insurance cover as much as you expected?
