What a depressing title of a post, right? The Restumping Melbourne team doesn’t normally make a point of sharing such information, but every now and again it’s absolutely necessary. Riddle us this – why do you think reinforcing the foundation of your home is so important? It’s not just for fun, it’s for function (although you can’t spell function without fun… come on, you have to give us that one…). Our team has reinforced the foundations of homes for generations and for decades through our restumping, reblocking and underpinning services, because we know how important it is.

As with many things, some of the most important – you have to learn the hard way, through heartache, through disaster, and through hard times. There are fewer things that fit into all three of those categories than floods. If you’re a regular visitor to the Restumping Melbourne blog, then you know that we’ve been doing our best to profile some of the most earth shifting (literally) events that have happened in modern history, as they really are the catalyst for our business and why reinforcing the foundation of your home is so important. Sometimes we like to zero in on one specific event, while others, it’s important to paint a broad picture of what havoc Mother Nature has created. Here is the first part of our list of the top 10 most deadly floods in recent history:

10- North Sea flood, The Netherlands (1212)

Coming in at number ten is the North Sea Flood in The Netherlands. Fun fact – the area is surprisingly one of the most impacted by floods and other natural disasters. This particular flood – commonly called the North Sea flood, began in June 1212 – lasting an extensive six months, claiming almost 60,000 lives and leaving a path of devastation in its wake.

9- St. Lucia’s flood, The Netherlands (1287)

The famous St. Lucia’s flood took place on December 12, 1287 with between 50,000 and 80,000 casualties in both The Netherlands and North Germany. The irony being that before the flood, there was a huge drought, with no water in any of the surrounding lakes. So how did the flood happen? It was a Molotov cocktail of a windstorm, low pressure and a high spring tide. Unfortunately, it destroyed multiple areas, and eventually caused Amsterdam to become coastal town.

8- Jiangsu-Anhui flood / Yangtze river flood, China (1911)

The Yangtze River is the third-longest on the planet. Its 3,917 miles long and the first source of transportation and irrigation in China. The Jiangsu-Anhui flood took place in 1911 when the Yangtze and the Huai (another major path of water) rivers began flooding at the exact same time, claiming almost 100,000 lives. The impacts were felt long after the flood was done, as it left about 375,000 people homeless in all of the surrounding areas.

7- Red River Delta flood, North Vietnam (1971)

1971 was the year when the Red River Delta Flood occurred, obviously at the peak of the Vietnam War. While the Vietnam War caused extensively more damage, the flood did still claim more than 100,000 lives – especially if you lived in the city of Hanoi.

6- St. Felix’s flood, The Netherlands (1530)

The name day of St. Felix wasn’t one of celebration in the year 1530 – when this flood occurred. More than a dozen villages and towns were completely wiped away. Looking at the numbers, about 120,000 people were killed. Land and properties worth more than 100 million euros collectively were completely destroyed. History will always remember it as the deadliest flood in European history – even to this day.

5- Yangtze river flood, China (1935)

The 1935 Yangtze river flood killed more than 145,000 people, also leaving millions of people homeless. This was a particularly scary flood because it brought along diseases and famine for the ride. The diseases included tuberculosis, malaria, and dermatitis.

Still feeling positive? We hope so. Give the Restumping Melbourne team a call so that your home is safe, no matter what Mother Nature sends your way.

Remember when we talked about the Missoula Floods? It’s been a while, but the Restumping Melbourne team loves perusing our archives. It’s a great reminder of the themes that we love sharing with you – who are so valued as our community of customers. It’s also a great inspiration for fun facts that we again, want to share, and also learn from. When we discussed the Missoula Floods, it was with the intention of sharing the major impacts that Mother Nature doesn’t just have on your home in general, but specifically on the foundation of your home. You can’t fight her and you can’t necessarily plan for her, but when you work with teams like ours, you know that you’re one step ahead and can breathe slightly more easily should negative weather be on the horizon.

Today, we’re traveling to the other side of the world. We’re headed to China.

In 1931, there was a major flood. Not just one, but a series of floods over a period of time. They lasted through the summer of 1931 – from June to August. Can you imagine a worse winter? They’re commonly called the 1931 China floods OR the 1931 Yangtze-Huai River floods. Regardless of what you call them, they hit a tonne of the most prolific cities in the area, including Nanjing and Wuhan.

At the end of all of the fun, the floods had caused a dike breach which took place along Lake Gaoyou. Unfortunately, it had multiple negative outputs, including hundreds of thousands of fatalities. A cholera epidemic took place the next year. It wasn’t a great couple of years for the area…

Here’s what’s important to learn from now:

• It only took the two years prior, when China dealt with a significant drought.
• The winter prior was especially harsh, which meant an abundance of snow and ice wherever there were mountains. What happens with harsh winters? They most likely mean significant melting snow and ice in these mountainous areas that then flows directly downward to lower elevations.
• Triple threat? According to records, that summer saw cyclonic activity that was far higher than normal – we’re talking nine cyclones throughout the region.

So, what does this have to do with your home? More than you’d think. There’s a lot of excitement that goes into choosing a new home. Sometimes it can be a very spontaneous decision. Sometimes it’s something that you’ve pondered over for months on end. There are a lot of criteria that go into it and the plot of land, terrain, elevation, etc., can either be something that’s automatically top of mind or something you’re not thinking about at all.

Our advice… think about it. While we’d like to say that situations like this are rare, we’re still invested in sharing them as cautionary tales, so that you make the right decisions for you and your family. Don’t be scared! The Restumping Melbourne team knows all of the right tricks to reinforce your foundation, you just need to give us a call to start the conversation.

It is never any fun when the conversation topic isn’t one that’s uplifting and encouraging to our community of homeowners. You’re our greatest asset on the Restumping Melbourne team… and for good reason. You keep us in business, you keep us motivated, you ensure that we’re committed to learning, growing and staying ahead of the game in the industry. What better way than blogs like this one? When you know everything, you need to know – not just about reinforcing your foundation – but about your property at large, you get EXCITED about enhancing one of the greatest investments that you’ll make in your life.

Part of that means preparing for the worst. Again, it’s no fun, but it’s right thing to do. Today, we’re diving right back in to recaps of the worst natural disasters as of late:

Straight from Owlcation:

Are Natural Disasters Increasing?

“Another thing that has risen in the past years are the financial costs incurred by natural disasters. International organizations such as the Red Cross say that the world’s yearly post-disaster cost is around 65 billion US dollars. Compare that to the four billion spent fifty years ago, adjust for inflation, and you’ll see how expensive reparations are becoming.

Because of our careless abuse of the environment, the number of natural disasters and the cost of cleaning them up will continue to rise.”

Straight from Our World in Data:

Empirical View

“Human impacts from natural disasters are not fully captured in mortality rates. Injury, homelessness, and displacement can all have a significant impact on populations.

Interactive charts on the following global impacts are available using the links below:

• Injuries: number of people injured is defined as “People suffering from physical injuries, trauma or an illness requiring immediate medical assistance as a direct result of a disaster.”
• Homelessness: number of people homeless is defined as “Number of people whose house is destroyed or heavily damaged and therefore need shelter after an event.”
• Affected: number of people affected is defined as “People requiring immediate assistance during a period of emergency, i.e. requiring basic survival needs such as food, water, shelter, sanitation and immediate medical assistance.”
• Total number affected: total number of people affected is defined as “the sum of the injured, affected and left homeless after a disaster.”

Straight from CNBC:

2017 — a Year of Disaster

“2017 was a devastating year with natural disasters such as catastrophic floods, wildfires and earthquakes affecting millions across the globe. Sigma recently estimated that disasters this year caused an estimated $306 billion in total economic losses. Global insured losses made it the third-most expensive year for the insurance industry.”

As you can see, we paint a grim but important picture and appreciate all of the aforementioned sources in the last two posts on stories that have really shaped not only our current environment, but all of the events that have brought us to where we are today.

Questions? Comments? Let the team at Restumping Melbourne know. We’re committed at turning your current house into your dream home.

We never want to write about negative things, but we always want to write about important things. That can have a really subjective connotation, depending on the audience. One person whose produce goes bad may have one perception of what a sad day can be. Another can have a high pain and adrenaline tolerance, thinking something else entirely. We – as the Restumping Melbourne team – aim to answer the call of both. We’re committed to reinforcing the foundation of your home and know that both physically and emotionally, that means making things safe and comfortable from the ground up. Aside from our top-notch customer service and best-in-class materials and processes (say that ten times fast), that means that it’s important for us to share information. We believe that when our customers are equipped with all of the information that they can possibly learn, they’ll only be more and more enthusiastic and engaged with the process of any home renovations.

So, now you know why we started this company and this blog. But why this topic? Who wants to talk about the greatest disasters? We do, so that you know exactly what to do, should anything ever happen to you. Read on for more information:

Straight from Science Eve:

2010 Haiti Earthquake

“Haiti, the Caribbean Country faced an earthquake of magnitude 7.3 M­_W on 12^th of January 2010 at 16:53 local time (21:53 UTC). The Epicenter was about 25 Kilometers from west of Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Haiti earthquake is listed among worst natural disasters in the last 10 years. In this deadliest earthquake 220,000 casualties were approximated and more than 300,000 were injured. More than 3 million people become homeless in this natural disaster.”

Straight from US News:

Papua New Guinea: Earthquake

“There were 145 deaths when a 7.5 magnitude earthquake struck the Southern Highlands province of Papua New Guinea in February, triggering a major aftershock and some landslides. Close to half a million people were affected by the disaster, according to ReliefWeb.”

Straight from Security Magazine:

Two Billion People Hit by Natural Disasters in the Past Decade

“According to The World Disasters Report 2018 by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, the number of floods (1,522) by far outstrips the number of storms (1,001), other weather-related incidents (634) and all other disaster triggers recorded over the period. Floods are estimated to have affected just under 730 million people – more than one third (37%) of the estimated 2 billion people affected by natural hazards between 2008 and 2017. However, floods accounted for a relatively small number of recorded deaths over the period, at 50,312, representing 7% of the total.”

Shaking your head? We get it. And unfortunately, we’re not done yet. This is part one of two and you’ll see the rest of our info on this series in our next Restumping Melbourne post.

Questions? Comments? Let us know. We look forward to hearing from you.

None of us like to think about natural disasters, but all of us need to prepare for them. At least that’s how the team at Restumping Melbourne feels. We consider it a trademark of the quality of our work to be well-versed in everything that can set us apart from the competition. If you’ve visited our site and blog, you already know that we are passionate about (and really good at) reinforcing the foundation of your home. If you’re a newer member of the community, welcome! We specialize in restumping, reblocking and underpinning – all of which are valuable services for any home.

While the history of these services is a little bit fuzzy, we do know exactly what issues are avoided if you complete them and check on the foundation of your home regularly. And that’s what brings us back to natural disasters. There are all sorts of different precautions that you need to take in life, but we’re only going to focus on those specific to your house. Here are some of the latest and greatest innovations that you should check out and read up on:

2 x 4

You know that it can be the size of a piece of wood that’s frequently used to build your house, but it’s also a magical ratio as you’re designing and constructing earthquake-resistant structures. While timber is a commonly used building component for good reason, it doesn’t make par with 2 x 4’s, which can help disperse the impact across a broader area.

Damping Structure

Damping structures are walls that absorb the energy created by earthquakes. They’re used universally at a variety of types of properties and businesses, and for good reason. They’re frequently the most successful – minimizing the impact of an earthquake by anywhere between 70 and 80 percent.

Seismic Isolation

The word seismic probably already makes you think of earthquakes. But it’s not always related to an impending disaster. In this scenario, it helps to stop the motion of said earthquakes by inserting materials like laminated rubber into your foundation. Depending on what material you use, it’s possible to reduce the impact up to 50 percent less severe than it would be otherwise.

Preparing for Natural Disasters

While we told you that this article would focus on your home’s precautions for inclement weather, we also know that it’s our responsibility to advise for other ways to prepare as well. You’ll want to store copious amounts of energy, an electric generator if you’re able, a stock of water and food to last at least two weeks, blankets and more. Luckily, between the team at Restumping Melbourne and the World Wide Web, there are a host of different sites that can help you pull together a checklist… just to save for a rainy day.

Questions? Comments? Let the team know by phone, email or in-person. We’re excited to hear from you and bring our premium skills at making sure that your home is safe and comfortable.

It’s never a good year for the number of natural disasters around the world, but 2018 has gone above and beyond. We’ve seen hurricanes, tornadoes, tsunamis, earthquakes and more. It doesn’t matter what you believe, science shows that there is no area that’s safe around the globe from mother nature. She’s a fickle friend and unfortunately, she tends to have a ripple effect on everything that’s important to you. The element here that’s nearest and dearest to our hearts here on the Restumping Melbourne team is your homes. They’re one of the biggest investments that you can make in life, and one of the most vital. The Restumping Melbourne team is dedicated to properly enforcing the foundation of your home so that you can live safely and comfortably. We’re passionate about educating our customers so that you navigate decisions related to your homes in the way that makes the most sense for you. That’s why we started this blog after all. And today we’re discussing what it takes to rebuild a home after a natural disaster.

First things first, you definitely want to make sure that you have homeowners insurance. It’s one of the most pesky steps in becoming a homeowner, but it is an absolutely vital thing to check off of the list. Homeowners insurance protects your wallet from natural disasters, even if it protects nothing else. In some areas, it’s illegal to not have homeowners insurance because in rare instances it can protect you if you’re at fault for harming someone else’s property.

That brings up the whole budget conversation. They call it a rainy day fund, but it’s important because it’s the account that you can dip into when unforeseen circumstances happen. Make sure that you’re setting some money aside on a regular basis, so that if a natural disaster took place, it wouldn’t be detrimental to your livelihood.

You’ll notice an influx of vendors that come calling after natural disasters. It’s an unfortunate time to go about it, but you can work it to your benefit. Yes, they can probably all get the job done, but we can’t stress enough how important it is to still do your homework. It may seem like it’s paramount to fix any damage immediately, but you don’t want to do it at the expense of not doing it right. You’ll just be spending more time and energy in the long run.

This is also a key time where you can rely on your community. There are many tools and resources that you can take advantage of. They include services for meal deliveries, ride services and opportunities for healing conversation. Natural disasters can bring out the best in people and they tend to rally communities. Just remember to pay it forward, because you never know when you’ll end up in a situation where you need some help.

Questions? Comments? Let the Restumping Melbourne team know. We’d love to hear from you and help make your home a safe and comfortable one.