Flood damage restoration in Brooklyn: the shore and the basements

Flood Restoration NYC is an independent referral service, not a restoration company. When you send the form, your details go to an independent local restoration provider serving New York City, who can contact you, inspect and quote any work directly. You decide whether to hire them.

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The waterfront: surge and tide

NYC Health’s data on Superstorm Sandy shows how hard the coast was hit: most of the storm’s 52 injury deaths took place along the coasts of Staten Island, Queens and Brooklyn, with 23% in Brooklyn, in zones where the mayor had ordered an evacuation. NYC Health also reports a 200% increase in high tide flood days across the city between 2000 and 2021, so tidal flooding on the shore is more frequent than it was.

FloodHelpNY’s Residential Backwater Valve Installation Program lists four Brooklyn communities among its eligible areas: the Southeast Brooklyn Waterfront, Gravesend and Bensonhurst, Gerritsen Beach and Sheepshead Bay, and the Southern Brooklyn Peninsula. Whether the program is taking applications now is something to confirm with FloodHelpNY.

Seawater flooding is one of the IICRC S500 standard’s examples of Category 3 water: grossly contaminated, to be cleaned up before drying, with protective gear. Wet drywall, insulation and carpet that sat in it are usually removed.

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Inland: rain, sewers and basements

Away from the shore, the Department of Environmental Protection’s sewer backups and street flooding do the damage. Heavy rain beyond the pipes’ capacity overflows through basement sewer connections; blocked catch basins send street water down stoops, areaways and basement stairs. During Ida, NYC Health says, rain fell at up to 3.5 inches an hour in places against a sewer capacity of 1.75 inches, and 10 of the 14 people who died drowned in unregulated basement apartments. NYC Health’s point is that rainfall flooding can happen anywhere in the city.

If you live in a basement or garden apartment, leave when water starts coming in during a storm. The basement flooding guide covers that first.

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Row houses and brownstones

Brooklyn’s attached houses share walls, and digging down outside a wall to waterproof it is hard where there is no side yard. Two steps the city asks for are worth taking on any Brooklyn house. DEP makes it mandatory to disconnect downspouts from the sanitary sewer and to send the water at least 6 feet from the foundation, because connected downspouts can cause sewer backups in basements; non-compliance may result in fines. And a backwater valve may stop sewage coming back in: FloodHelpNY says a licensed plumber or engineer can tell you which type, if any, suits your home.

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The cleanup order in a Brooklyn home

1. Power off from a dry place, or by an electrician, as the CDC advises. Leave if you smell gas.
2. Generators outside only, at least 20 feet from the house, says the EPA.
3. Photograph every wet room before anything is moved.
4. Pump out the water once the rain or tide has stopped rising.
5. Remove soaked porous materials; clean hard surfaces.
6. Dry within 24 to 48 hours, the EPA’s guidance to prevent mold.

The details are in flood cleanup in NYC, sewage cleanup for drain backups, and storm damage for surge and wind-driven rain. For keeping water out afterward, see basement waterproofing.

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Insurance and zones

FloodSmart says most homeowners insurance does not cover flood damage, and FloodHelpNY says a renter’s contents are not likely to be covered by renter’s insurance. Check your own policy or agent. On the shore, look up both your FEMA flood zone and your evacuation zone: NYC Flood Maps describes the high-risk area as a 1% chance of flooding in any year and 26% over a 30-year mortgage, and NYC Emergency Management ranks six evacuation zones by surge risk. The NYC flood zones guide explains both.

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Questions people ask