Each year we spend billions of dollars to respond to and recover from disasters, large and small. This money ultimately comes right out of our pockets in the form of higher insurance premiums and taxes.

When disaster strikes, we see the outside devastation by the number of homes damaged or completely destroyed. But for most, the real devastation happens inside the home.

When the world thinks about natural disasters, they are often thinking on a large scale: Hurricane Katrina, the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan, the Joplin tornados, wildfires spreading across state lines, and the like. In reality, however, those are a very small fraction of the disasters that happen almost daily around the world.

Hurricane Georgia left a trail of destruction that ravaged thousands of homes along the Atlantic coastline. In the days that followed, hundreds of restoration companies from all over the country mobilized resources to help put lives back together.

 The historic rainfall has passed – but the deadly floodwaters remain.  

During September, Annissa Coy from Firehouse Education did a four-part video series for R&R on responding to catastrophe loss.

This is the third of a four-part series by Annissa on handling catastrophe loss situations.

This is the second of a four-part series by Annissa on handling catastrophe loss situations.