Where ZIP 99203 sits and who answers the call
ZIP 99203 lies south of the city reference point, roughly 3.9 kilometers from it. The nearest other city areas in the plan are ZIP 99204 and ZIP 99202, and a crew working in either of those is close to this ZIP. The line sends the crew that is free and nearest, which may not be the same crew on every call.
Because the area is named by its ZIP, the caller should give the street name on the phone. A cross street lets the crew match the house to the water path and check the first visit against the building's layout.
Snowmelt and rain in this part of the county
The Spokane County Flood Insurance Study describes winter rain-on-snow and spring snowmelt as the two main flood types in the county. A house in ZIP 99203 with a basement or a low entry is exposed to both, and the water arrives at ground level before it reaches anything above.
The county hazard mitigation plan lists flood declarations in 1956 and 1957, and the February 1996 flood affected Spokane County among 24 Washington counties. Those dates are a reminder that high water in the county is recurring, and a house that has flooded once can flood again.
Checking a lower level in ZIP 99203
The technician checks the floor drain, the sump if there is one, the window wells and the joint between the floor and the wall. Each of those is a common entry for water into a lower floor, and each one is noted on the survey. The panel and any appliance in the water are dealt with first.
The drying plan follows the readings, which are taken at several heights on the wall and at several points on the floor. A basement that is damp at one corner needs a different plan from one that is wet across its whole floor, and the crew says which of those it found.
The record and the claim for 99203
Photograph the water line, the entry point and the stored items before anything is moved. Keep damaged materials until the insurer has seen them, unless they are a health hazard. The crew's written record of the water and the readings is the document the insurer will ask for first.
The Washington Office of the Insurance Commissioner handles consumer complaints about insurance claims. The policy and the insurer decide what is covered. The crew's record is there so the claim starts from an accurate account of the water.
