River and Storm Flood Cleanup in Manchester, NH

Manchester sits where the Piscataquog joins the Merrimack, with Cohas Brook draining the south end of the city. The Merrimack flood of March 1936 reshaped the riverfront, and the 2006 Mother's Day flood soaked much of southern New Hampshire. Big river floods are rare, but summer cloudbursts that overwhelm storm drains, and low spots along the brooks, put water into basements and first floors far more often.

Why floodwater is always Category 3

Water that comes in from outside has run across streets, lawns and parking lots and often through overflowing sewers. It carries soil, fuel, lawn chemicals and bacteria. That makes it Category 3 no matter how clear it looks, and it changes the cleanup:

• The crew works in protective gear, with containment where needed
• Carpet, pad, insulation, drywall and other porous materials the water touched are removed
• Mud and silt are shoveled and extracted before cleaning
• Hard surfaces are cleaned and treated with an EPA-registered antimicrobial
• Structural drying runs last, with daily readings

After a flood in Manchester

Do not go back in until the water is down and the building is safe. Keep power off until an electrician says it is safe, and do not run furnaces, boilers or water heaters that sat in floodwater until a technician checks them. Photograph everything, including the waterline on the walls, before anything is thrown out. The FEMA flood map service shows mapped flood zones, and Ready.gov covers safe re-entry after a flood.

Flood coverage is usually separate

Standard homeowners policies generally exclude surface flooding; flood coverage comes from a separate flood policy. The claim file needs the waterline photos, the category, the list of removed materials and the drying logs. Water that came up through a floor drain is covered on the sewer backup page, and groundwater through the walls on the foundation seepage page.