Why does a Meridian storm call so often become a water call?
A tornado or a windstorm that opens a roof or wall does its water damage after the wind has gone. The April 2018 tornado in the Meridian area took out power and trees, and a building with a torn roof or a fallen limb keeps taking water with each rain until someone covers the opening. That is the reason the first call on a storm night is treated as a water entry job rather than a waiting job.
The crew checks the attic, the wall tops and the windows that face the storm side. Water from the storm often reaches a room that has no visible hole, because it has run along the framing from somewhere else. The check is done in the same order whether the storm was a tornado or a straight-line wind.
What does a burst pipe or appliance leak look like in the city?
Inside the city, the everyday calls are supply lines that split, washing machine hoses that fail, and water heaters that drip in a closet. A burst supply line usually shows up as a wet floor or a damp wall, and the water spreads under cabinets and into the subfloor before the room looks wrong. The crew measures that spread before it opens anything.
Humid air is the reason the drying takes more days than a homeowner expects. A wet subfloor in a Meridian house can hold water for longer than the floor surface suggests, so the readings decide when the room is ready to be closed.
What happens when the phone rings after a backup or a late storm?
Sewage backups and storms that come at night are the calls where the phone line matters most. The line is answered 24/7, and the person answering asks which floor the water is on, where it came from and whether the panel is wet. Those answers decide the first advice, such as closing the main or leaving the power alone.
Crews are dispatched as fast as one is free. The city has a large enough call volume after a storm that the crew cannot promise an arrival time, and it will not claim one over the phone. What you can do in the meantime is keep people clear of the wet area and photograph what you see.
What is worth checking after a heavy rain in Meridian?
After a heavy rain, look at the ceilings under the roof line, the base of the walls on the storm side and the floor near any door. A stain that appears a day or two after the rain is a sign that water has been travelling through the framing, and it is worth a call even if the room looks dry.
Keep the gutters and downspouts clear, and make sure they send water away from the foundation. The crew will point out drainage problems it sees on the property, though the repair of grading and gutters is done by a contractor you choose.
