It's really not all that bad. Given the construction and the slope of our house, it's really only half of the basement that's prone to leaks, so we've long since made sure that the only things on that side are either waterproof or essentially disposable. Computer and music junk is all on the dry side, boxes-of-stuff are all either in seamless plastic or up on shelves far from the damp. The only things left to get ruined are the bottommost layers of the stash of old cardboard boxes kept around for shipping/packing stuff, and we've got enough of those stocked up that the occasional casualties really aren't missed.

And it's not even deep enough that I'd call it standing water -- it's squishy bits on a big old throw rug ugly enough to have been exiled to the basement, and some shallow, easily-mopped puddles on the bare concrete. I can't really bring myself to consider that a real "flood" -- there's not even enough water to ooze over the soles of my sandals. Mind you, in my time I've dealt with two burst water heaters and one burst water pipe, so anything less than gallons and gallons of water pouring out under pressure and swirling around my ankles seems kind of pissant in comparison.