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Digging Out Safely After The Storm

Bloomington, Illinois, February 2, 2011 – Fierce wind, deep snow, ice, frigid temperatures and a little lightning – thank you Mother Nature. The massive winter storm that stretched from Oklahoma to New York impacted nearly 100 million people this week, many of whom are just beginning to dig out.

If you have a claim, contact a State Farm Agent or call 1-800-SFCLAIM.

For those of us unaccustomed to living in igloos, the task of removing a foot or more of snow and ice might seem daunting. State Farm offers suggestions on how to get the job done safely.

Protecting your home during frigid temperatures:

• To protect pipes from freezing during extreme cold open cabinet doors to allow heat to get to pipes under sinks and vanities near exterior walls and run a small trickle of water from hot and cold faucets. If you turn on your faucets and nothing comes out, leave the faucets turned on and call a plumber. If you detect that your water pipes have frozen and burst, turn off the water at the main water shut-off valve in the house. To see video about what to do when a pipe freezes, visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ls97J_tQ0io
• Hire a contractor to carefully remove most of the snow from the roof above the ice dam. The contractor should avoid touching the roof with the removal equipment or even walking on the roof if possible. Cold roofs are more prone to damage because they are more brittle than they are in the summer.
• Remove snow and ice from walkways and stairs to prevent slips and falls.
• High winds and ice can down trees and power lines. Stay away from downed power lines and electrical wires. Notify the utility company.
• If you’ve experienced a power outage, turn off or disconnect appliances, equipment or electronics that were on when the power went out. When power returns it may come back with momentary “surges” or “spikes” that can damage equipment such as computers and motors in appliances like the refrigerator, washer or furnace.

For more safety tips visit http://www.statefarm.com/learning/loss_prevent/loss_prevent.asp?WT.svl=56 or contact Holly Anderson at (309) 735-7745.

Contact

Holly Anderson State Farm Insurance, (309) 735-7745

About State Farm®

State Farm insures more cars and homes than any other insurer in the U.S., is the leading insurer of watercraft and is also a leading insurer in Canada. State Farm’s 17,700 agents and more than 67,000 employees serve 81 million policies and accounts – almost 79 million auto, fire, life and health policies in the United States and Canada, and nearly 2 million bank accounts. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company is the parent of the State Farm family of companies. State Farm is ranked No. 34 on the Fortune 500 list of largest companies. For more information, please visit statefarm.com® or in Canada statefarm.ca®.