SACRAMENTO, Calif. — People are cleaning up and assessing the damage from the weekend's deadly storm, which includes damage to homes and cars.
State Farm insurance said it has already received more than 1,300 claims. Most are in Sacramento, Alameda and San Joaquin counties.
The weekend storm brought heavy rain to the region, breaching levees, flooding roads, evacuating communities and stranding cars. Homes, businesses and vehicles are now suffering water damage from flooding and the insurance claims are rolling in.
"We've seen over 1,300 home and auto claims that have been filed already, and we do expect that number to go up over the next several days," said Amy Harris, with State Farm Public Affairs.
FEMA says one inch of flooding can cause $25,000 worth of damage. However, when checking out damage to a home or car, safety should always come first.
"The best thing you could do is, when it's safe to do so, look for damage, document with pictures and videos," said Harris.
She said this will help make filing an insurance claim faster and easier.
"We just really want people to stay safe, make smart decisions. Don't try and go into your property and assess the damage if it's not safe to do so," said Harris.
Keep in mind, general flood insurance is done through the National Flood Insurance Program, which is run through FEMA. When people get insurance that government program, it will take 30 days to go into effect.
If you aren't covered by flood insurance right now or are not impacted by flooding yet, you can prepare by taking a home inventory.
"As simple as walking around your house with your smartphone camera, documenting what you have collectible things that are worth value, open up different doors, take pictures, and just really have a good inventory of what you have inside your home," said Harris.
FEMA said it has received 39 claims in the National Flood Insurance Program between now and the day after Christmas, with most claims coming from the Bay Area.
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