Gota fría season: what to check in your home before and after a storm

The locals call it gota fría, and lately you'll also hear DANA. It's the same idea: warm sea, cold air high up, and very heavy rain concentrated in a few hours, usually between September and November. Most of the year your terrace drain handles a light shower without anyone noticing. Under a storm like that it either copes or it doesn't, and in an empty house nobody is there to find out.

Before the storm season

• Clear terrace and balcony drains of leaves, sand and the odd plastic bag
• Check gutters and downpipes, especially under pine trees
• Look at the roof terrace: cracked tiles or tired waterproofing let water through to the ceiling below
• Make sure garden furniture, umbrellas and plant pots can't blow into windows or block a drain
• Check that the pool, if you have one, isn't filled to the brim
• Leave shutters down on the side that takes the wind, and know where the main water stopcock and electricity panel are

During the storm

If you're abroad, there's not much you can do in the moment, and that's fine. What helps is having someone local who knows the house, has the keys and gets the official warnings. In the Valencian Community, yellow, orange and red alerts come from AEMET and the Generalitat, and on red days the advice is clear: nobody should be driving around to check on houses. The visit comes after.

After the storm

• Look for water on terraces that hasn't drained, and clear what's blocking it
• Check ceilings and the tops of walls for damp patches, especially below roof terraces
• Open the electrical panel: a storm often trips the main switch, and a fridge without power for days is a problem of its own
• Check the garage, storerooms and anything at ground level
• Look for loose roof tiles, damaged awnings and anything the wind moved
• Photograph everything, even if it looks fine: if something shows up later, you'll want those dates

Power cuts: the quiet problem

A lot of storm damage in empty homes isn't water, it's electricity. The main switch trips, the fridge and freezer warm up, and nobody finds out until the owners arrive. A smart plug or a small power sensor that sends an alert when the supply drops is one of the cheapest things you can install, and one of the most useful.