Protect Your Property

Minimizing Damage

There are things you can do to minimize flood damage before the event occurs. Using some of the following techniques can be helpful to protect your home or business:

  • For hurricanes and wind events install shutters for your home.
  • Elevate all important furniture, appliances, and other electrical items.
  • Re-grade your yard to direct stormwater away from your house, but do not send this stormwater to your neighbors.
  • Build flood walls, berms, or swales to direct stormwater to proper disposal areas.
  • Put all low-lying electrical fixtures on separate circuits.
  • Use sand bags around doors and low level windows.
  • Buildings can also be permanently retrofitted by elevating the entire building, adding flood-proofing materials to the building, or adding a second story and using the bottom story for parking, access and storage.

The city provides site visits, property protection advice and flooding and drainage advice. For assistance, please contact 305-460-5000.

Development Improvements

Did you know all new construction—even those in low risk flood areas—requires a building permit? Before you start to fill, construct an addition, or plan any other improvements please contact the Building Department, 427 Biltmore Way, Coral Gables, FL 33134, at 305-460-5235 for the appropriate permit application. If you see construction occurring without permits please report this to the Code Enforcement Department, at 305-441-5777. Remember, if a storm occurs, buildings constructed without the proper permits could cause damage to other structures and may be dangerous to the whole neighborhood.

Help Us Keep Our Waters Clean

It is illegal to throw anything—ANYTHING—into the lakes, canals, or other waters of the city. Nothing but stormwater is allowed to go into the storm drains located in streets, rights-of-way, and parking lots. Dumping of materials into our waters or drains pollutes those waters, clogs our storm drains, and leads to increased flooding in our neighborhoods. Please report any discharges to bodies of water or storm drains to the city at 305-460-5000 or Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS.