Basement Flooding Emergency: Who to Call First and What to Do Next

If water is touching outlets, appliances or the electrical panel, or you smell gas, get everyone out and make your calls from outside. Everything else can wait.

After that, it is a question of order: who to call, and what to do before help arrives. This is the order we recommend to callers across New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Connecticut. Our line, (845) 294-8919, is answered 24/7.

Right now:

1. Get out if you smell gas, see sparks, or water is near the panel. Call 911 or the utility from outside.
2. Stop the water if you safely can: main shutoff, appliance valve, or a plumber.
3. Call a restoration crew early. EPA advises drying wet materials within 24 to 48 hours.
4. Photograph everything, then call your insurer the same day. Flood, sewer backup and burst pipes are covered very differently.

Is a Flooded Basement an Emergency? A 60-Second Safety Check

Yes, when water touches outlets, appliances or the electrical panel, when you smell gas, when the water is sewage or floodwater, or when it is soaking into drywall, carpet or insulation. EPA advises drying wet materials within 24 to 48 hours to prevent mold, so even shallow water that is wicking into drywall or carpet needs a same-day response.

Get out and call from outside if

• water is touching or near outlets, cords, appliances, the furnace or the panel
• you smell gas or hear hissing
• you see sparks, hear buzzing, or smell burning
• the ceiling sags or a foundation wall bulges or cracks
• the water is still rising, or it's still flooding outside

Ready.gov's flood guidance: do not touch electrical equipment if it is wet or if you are standing in water. For gas, Con Edison tells customers to leave immediately and not flip a switch or touch electronics, including a phone, until they're away from the area.

Sewage or outside floodwater is different. It isn't a 911 call, but stay out of it. Don't wade in to check, and don't start mopping. It goes to your sewer authority and a restoration crew, covered next. If you must go down once hazards are cleared, the CDC says to wear rubber boots and plastic gloves.

"It's only an inch." Depth is a poor guide. An inch of sewage is a contamination problem, and an inch of clean water that has reached drywall or carpet pad has already started the drying clock. A small clean puddle on bare concrete from a leak you've already stopped doesn't need a 2 a.m. call, but deal with it the same day.

Who to Call When Your Basement Floods

Start with what you can see. If you smell gas, see sparks, or water is near the electrical panel, get out and call 911 or the utility from outside. Otherwise, stop the water (shut the main and call a plumber if a pipe is still leaking), call a water damage restoration company to extract and dry, and notify your insurer the same day. Renters should tell the landlord too.

If you see, smell or hear…	Call	What they will (and won't) do
Gas smell, a gas appliance that sat in water	The emergency number on your gas bill, from outside	Shuts off and checks the gas. Won't remove water.
Wiring or the panel in the wet area, no dry route to the breaker	Your electric utility or a licensed electrician	Cuts power safely and checks wiring before it's restored.
A pipe or water heater still leaking	A plumber, after you close the main	Fixes the source. Doesn't extract or dry.
Sewage rising from drains, often in heavy rain	NYC: 311. Harrisburg: Capital Region Water. Hartford area: the MDC. Elsewhere: your sewer department	Checks the public sewer and tells you if the problem is your private line.
Any sewage, or wet drywall, carpet or insulation	A water damage restoration company	Extraction, moisture mapping, drying, and the records your insurer asks for.
Bulging walls or a sagging floor	A structural engineer or building department	Decides if it's safe before anyone pumps or rebuilds.

Calling a restoration crew? Have these ready:

• the source, if you know it
• roughly how much floor is wet
• whether it smells like sewage
• whether power and gas are off
• whether the space is finished or bare concrete

Call (845) 294-8919. In nearby service areas our crews typically arrive within 90 minutes; the dispatcher gives you a real ETA based on the closest of our 11 offices and the storm-call queue.

Find the Source, Because It Decides Your Next Call

The source tells you who to call, how contaminated the water is likely to be, and which policy may respond. Restorers sort water into three categories under the ANSI/IICRC S500 standard; a technician confirms the category on site.

Source and how to spot it	Typical category	First call
Supply pipe: clean, steady flow	1 at the start	Close the main, plumber, then a crew
Water heater or washer: pooling around the appliance	Usually 1; washer discharge can be 2	Close the valve, then a crew
Sump failure: water rising around the pit in a storm or outage (see sump pump failures during power outages)	Usually 2; 3 if floodwater or sewage is involved	Restoration crew
Seepage: wet along the floor-wall joint or cracks after rain	Usually 2; can become 3 if it sits	Restoration crew
Floodwater: in through window wells or doors	3	Crew, then your insurer about flood coverage
Sewer backup: up through the floor drain or toilet	3	Sewer authority, then a crew (see sewage backup emergency response)

Can't find it? Water only after rain, wettest along the walls, points to seepage or the sump. Water with no rain points to plumbing: turn off every fixture and watch the meter. A moving dial means a hidden supply leak.

What the Water Category Means for You: Clean, Gray or Sewage

Category	Basement examples	Can you clean it yourself?
1: clean source	Supply line, water heater	Possibly, if power is off, the leak is stopped, and drywall, pad and insulation aren't soaked
2: significant contamination	Washer discharge, most sump overflows, seepage	Small areas only, with gloves, boots and eye protection
3: grossly contaminated	Sewage, outside floodwater	No. Porous materials it touched are generally removed.

Clean water doesn't stay clean. A leak that sits on a dusty slab and soaks into carpet can slide toward Category 2 or 3. Here's more on how IICRC water categories work; if it's sewage, skip DIY and book professional sewage cleanup.

The First Hour, Step by Step

Step 1: Cut power only if you can reach the panel dry

If you can reach the panel without standing in water or on a wet floor, switch off the basement circuits. If not, leave it and call the electric utility. The CDC says to turn off gas, power and water when water is in your home; Ready.gov adds the condition that matters: only if it's safe to do so.

Step 2: Gas appliances and carbon monoxide

No gas smell and a dry, reachable shutoff? You can close it. Smell gas? Leave and call from outside. The American Red Cross says appliances inundated by floodwater should be checked by a professional before use. That includes the furnace and water heater, and a panel that got wet should be checked by an electrician before power is restored. Running a generator or gas pump? The CDC says to keep it outdoors, more than 20 feet from windows, doors and vents, with a battery-powered or battery-backup CO detector inside.

Step 3: Stop the water

Burst pipe: close the main shutoff, then open the lowest faucet. Appliance: close its valve. Sump: check power and the float; see sump pump maintenance and backup systems. Towels at the wall won't stop groundwater, so don't spend the first hour on them.

Step 4: Photograph before you move anything

Wide shots of each wall, the waterline, the source, damaged items, and the model plates on the furnace, water heater and washer. NY DFS tells policyholders to take photos and video before cleaning anything up. Keep damaged items until the adjuster says otherwise. If a pipe failed, read how burst-pipe claims work.

Step 5: Notify your insurer the same day

You don't have to wait for the adjuster to dry the place out. NY DFS notes that property owners are responsible for protecting their property from further damage, and that permanent repairs should wait until the insurer inspects. Extraction and drying protect the property; rebuilding is a repair. Save every receipt.

Step 6: Still flooding outside? Pump slowly

This applies only when the ground outside is saturated. After a burst pipe or appliance leak, start extraction right away. Saturated soil pushes inward on foundation walls, and the water inside pushes back. The Red Cross advises pumping out flooded basements gradually, about one-third of the water per day, because pressure from water-saturated soil could cause the walls to collapse.

Step 7: Remove water yourself only if it's clean

DIY makes sense when power is off, the source is stopped, the water is Category 1 and the area is small. Move documents and photos first, then electronics, then furniture onto blocks. Use a wet/dry vac, never a household vacuum. More on how to extract clean water safely before the crew arrives.

Step 8: Start drying, and know what "dry" means

Run a dehumidifier nonstop. EPA recommends indoor humidity below 60%, ideally 30% to 50%. Open windows only if the outside air is drier. Don't trust your hand: drywall can feel dry while the bottom inches and studs behind it are wet. Crews compare meter readings to a dry room. See how restoration dehumidifiers work.

Will Insurance Cover a Flooded Basement? It Depends on Where the Water Came From

Water source	Policy that usually responds	Watch for
Burst pipe or appliance	Standard homeowners	Gradual leaks may be excluded; check your policy
Floodwater or surface runoff from outside	Flood insurance only (NFIP or private)	NFIP basement coverage is limited (below)
Sewer backup, sump overflow	A water-backup endorsement on your homeowners policy, if you added one	You pick the dollar limit and wording varies by insurer. A sump failure caused by a flood may fall outside both policies.
Seepage through the foundation	Usually none	Often treated as a maintenance issue; a flood policy responds only if a flood as the policy defines it caused it

Sources: burst-pipe coverage and the flood exclusion follow NAIC's homeowners guide. The backup endorsement, its limits and the sump-failure gap come from NY DFS guidance on adding coverage. Seepage follows the Insurance Information Institute. Rules vary by insurer and state, so check your own policy.

What flood insurance pays for below grade. FEMA's basement fact sheet limits building coverage to listed items such as furnaces, water heaters, central AC, sump pumps, outlets, breaker boxes, unfinished un-taped drywall, attached stairs and foundation elements. Contents coverage, bought separately, covers washers, dryers, portable or window air conditioners and freezers with their food, only if connected to power. Finished floors and walls and personal belongings aren't covered. The NFIP can pay for pumping out trapped floodwater and structural drying of salvageable foundation elements, which is where a crew's drying log matters.

FEMA says NFIP policies have typically a 30-day waiting period, with exceptions such as coverage required by a government-backed lender. And flood isn't only a flood-zone problem: the Pennsylvania Insurance Department, citing FEMA in an October 8, 2025 release, said 20% of NFIP claims come from properties outside Special Flood Hazard Areas. Coverage depends on your policy wording, so check your declarations page or ask your agent. For budgeting, see what basement flood cleanup typically costs.

What a Professional Crew Does in the First Days

Call a crew when:

• the water is sewage or floodwater
• you can't find the source
• drywall, insulation or carpet is wet
• water has stood more than a day
• the furnace was under water
• the basement smells musty afterward

First visit. The crew checks power and gas, confirms the category, extracts standing water and maps moisture to find where the wet area ends. What can't be dried, like soaked pad or insulation, comes out. Dehumidifiers and air movers go in.

This Stamford, CT basement (2026) shows a flood cut: the bottom of the drywall removed so the studs and block behind it can dry, with air movers pushing air across the bare slab. Touch isn't a dryness test. A wall that feels dry to the hand can still read wet on a meter, which is why crews take readings before closing walls back up.

Daily checks. A technician re-reads the same marked spots and logs them, moving equipment as areas dry unevenly. The readings, not the calendar, decide when equipment comes out. Close-out: equipment leaves, the drying log goes to you and your adjuster, and the rebuild is scoped.

"Class" (1 to 4) is not Category: it measures how much wet material there is and sets the equipment count. See our 24/7 water damage restoration page.

Basement Flooding Across NY, NJ, PA and CT

New York City

Report sewage backing up into your home to 311 and keep the tracking number. DEP says it inspects within six hours, though heavy rain or snowmelt can delay that. If the cause is your private service line, you get a Notice to Repair, because owners are responsible for their sewer service lines. Our NYC office is at 776A 6th Avenue, 2nd Floor; see sewer backup cleanup in New York City.

Hudson Valley and New Jersey

Orange, Ulster and Dutchess county calls go to our New Hampton, Kingston and Stormville offices. In New Jersey, our Fairfield, East Hanover and Toms River offices cover the north and the shore; see water damage restoration in Fairfield, NJ.

Pennsylvania

In Harrisburg, sewer questions go to Capital Region Water. After storms in August 2021, a Capital Region Water program manager told local21news that thunderstorms of that type can drop two inches of rain in 15 to 30 minutes, and that no system can handle that amount. See sewer backup cleanup in Harrisburg.

Connecticut

Hartford-area sewers are run by the Metropolitan District. The MDC asks residents to call its Command Center first during a backup, before any plumber touches the line, and says the lateral to your house is the owner's responsibility. Homes that flood during wet weather may qualify for its Backwater Valve Program, after an MDC plumbing survey. Our Marlborough office covers the area; see water damage restoration in Hartford.

After the Water Is Gone: Problems to Watch For and Preventing the Next One

• Sump not running: check the circuit and float; a pump that hums but moves no water needs replacing.
• Water coming back: the source wasn't fully stopped, or groundwater is still high.
• Musty smell after drying: hidden moisture; get it checked, and call for mold remediation if growth is found.
• Soft or spongy floor: a wet subfloor that may have to come up.

To lower the odds next time: a battery backup on the sump, a backwater valve installed by a licensed plumber, downspout extensions, soil graded away from the house, and a water alarm by the sump and water heater. Full checklist: how to prevent basement flooding during heavy rain.

Frequently Asked Questions

Should I call a plumber or a restoration company first?

If a pipe is still running, close the main and call the plumber first. If the source is stopped, or it's groundwater, floodwater or sewage, call the restoration crew first. A plumber fixes the leak but doesn't extract or dry, and EPA's 24-to-48-hour drying window has already started.

Will the fire department pump out my basement?

That's local policy. Many departments respond to the hazard (gas, live wiring, water rising toward the panel) rather than to pump water, and in a storm life-safety calls come first. Ask on the non-emergency line, and arrange extraction separately either way.

How fast can a restoration crew get to my house?

Call (845) 294-8919, answered 24/7. In nearby service areas crews typically arrive within 90 minutes; distance and storm volume affect timing.

Can I clean up a flooded basement myself?

Only for a small area of clean water, with the power off and the source stopped. Sewage, outside floodwater, or wet finished walls and flooring call for a professional.

Does homeowners insurance cover a flooded basement?

It depends on the source. Sudden plumbing leaks are typically covered. Floodwater needs a flood policy. Sewer backup and sump pump failure need a water-backup endorsement, which NY DFS says some insurers sell for an added premium. Slow seepage is generally excluded. Your policy wording decides, so check with your agent.

How quickly does mold grow after a basement floods?

EPA says that if wet materials are dried within 24 to 48 hours, in most cases mold will not grow. Wet drywall, carpet and cardboard left longer are where problems start.

What if my basement floods at night?

Same order: make it safe, stop the source, take photos, then call. Our line is answered overnight, and the drying clock keeps running.

Do we need to leave the house while the basement dries?

Usually not. Consider it if sewage reached a finished living space or the only bathroom, if the furnace or water heater flooded and you have no heat or hot water, or if someone vulnerable lives there during sewage cleanup. Additional living expenses are generally paid only when the damage itself is covered by your policy, so ask your insurer before booking a hotel and keep every receipt.

Need Help Right Now?

Call (845) 294-8919, 24/7. Advanced DRI has been drying out basements since 2000 from 11 offices across New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Connecticut. Prefer a local office? Find your nearest office.