Gota fría checklist: your home before, during and after the storm

When to expect it and how the warnings work

The risk of extreme rain is highest from September to November, with October as the heaviest month in the long-term records. A DANA can also form in winter or spring, so a warning outside the autumn deserves the same attention.

The Spanish weather agency AEMET issues warnings in three colours, up to 72 hours ahead: yellow for low danger, orange for significant danger and red for extraordinary danger. In a serious emergency the authorities can also send an ES-Alert to every mobile phone in the area. It needs no app and it sounds even when the phone is on silent. The emergency number is 112.

Before the storm: one afternoon of preparation

Do this at the start of autumn, and again when an orange or red warning is announced.

• Clear roof terrace drains, gutters and downpipes of leaves and sand, so the water has somewhere to go.
• Check the roof for loose or cracked tiles and have them fixed before the rain, not after it.
• Bring in or tie down everything loose on terraces and balconies: parasols, cushions, light furniture and plant pots.
• Move valuables and documents off the floor in garages, basements and other low rooms.
• If water has come into a garage or basement before, close off the entrance with boards or sandbags.
• Do not empty the pool. Switch off the pump, the lights and the dosing system at the fuse box and store loose pool equipment.
• Move the car out of low spots and away from dry riverbeds, the barrancos.

During the storm: stay inside and stay high

Once it is raining hard, the house matters less than the people in it.

• Unplug electrical appliances, and switch off power and gas in rooms that may flood.
• Do not go down to a basement or garage to save a car or belongings.
• Never drive or walk through a flooded road, ford or underpass, and keep away from riverbeds.
• If water enters the house and the street is flooded, go to a higher floor and call 112.

After the storm: check, record, report

The first day after the rain decides how well damage can be limited and claimed.

• Walk around the house first and then through it, and photograph everything before you clean or move anything.
• Do not switch the power back on in rooms that got wet until an electrician has checked them.
• Clear the drains again. The storm leaves leaves, sand and branches exactly where the next shower needs to go.
• Check ceilings and walls for damp patches in the days that follow. Leaks often show late.
• Have the pool water tested and cleaned before anyone swims: run-off carries soil into the pool and upsets the balance.
• Report damage to your insurer as soon as you can, with the photos.

Insurance: your policy and the Consorcio

Ordinary storm damage, such as rain that comes in through a roof or wind below 120 km/h, is a matter for your own home insurer and the terms of your policy. Extraordinary events, such as an extraordinary flood or wind gusts above 120 km/h, are covered in Spain by a public body, the Consorcio de Compensación de Seguros. It only pays if you have a valid home insurance policy with the premium paid, and it covers the same property and the same sums as that policy.

Two details matter. The Consorcio's cover for natural events starts seven days after a new policy is issued or takes effect, so insure before the season and not on the day of the warning. And report damage quickly: the Consorcio advises doing so within seven days, by phone on 900 222 665 or through consorseguros.es. Damage that comes from an evident lack of maintenance is excluded, which is one more reason to keep the drains clear.

If you are not here when it happens

Many owners are abroad in exactly these months. A warning on your phone is of little use from a thousand kilometres away, and a leak that runs for three weeks does far more damage than one that is found the next morning.

Arrange beforehand who prepares the house when a warning comes and who checks it afterwards. In our care plans we add an extra check after storms, and you receive a photo report of what we found.