Munster State Farm agent Kevin Bednarek furiously sprayed foam sealant at the bottom of the doors of his office on Calumet Avenue Monday morning.

It didn't do any good. By afternoon, he was up to his ankles in water but still working at his computer, serving customers.

"I feel bad. I'm trying to help my clients, and I have the same problem," Bednarek said Wednesday when the waters had receded. "I don't have flood insurance, and I'm the insurance agent."

Bednarek is among hundreds of business owners across the region dealing with fallout from the flood.

Business districts in Munster, Highland, Hobart and Calumet City were devastated by the rising waters that came after three days of rain. Individual businesses on highways and rural roads throughout the region also suffered the storm's direct effects.

Physical recovery of business premises and financial recovery should go hand in hand in the days after a disaster such as last week's floods, according to Paul Dillman, of P&L Accounting & Tax Services in Oak Forest, Ill.

Shooting video of the entire business and all contents should be one of the first things a business owner does, Dillman said. Then the owner should tabulate all items that will be claimed as insurance losses in a computer spreadsheet.

"The stupidest thing is throwing everything out and not documenting it," Dillman said.

Then come up with a plan for replacing equipment, Dillman said. Tax laws that allow for deduction of the full amount of the loss, minus any insurance payments, also will help with recovery.

"The biggest mistake I see is people just overreacting or trying to fix everything really fast and making snap decisions," Dillman said.

Trucking companies that depend on deliveries suffered indirect losses from this week's flooding.

"There's only one word to describe it -- brutal," said Jack Crotty, owner of JL Shandy Transportation Inc., based in St. John.

Crotty said there is no way to calculate the loss to his trucking business from drivers idling for hours in long lines of traffic after Interstate 80/94 and a portion of Interstate 65 were closed.

Miss Print co-owner Rick Baltensberger put his expertise to work last week in his street's recovery effort, printing a vinyl poster reading "Businesses are open." He posted it on the barricades at the Ridge Road intersection.

The printing shop didn't suffer any direct damage from the flooding, but the closure of Calumet Avenue north of Ridge Road, where the shop is located, cost Miss Print about half its business.

"It's just been a tough year," Baltensberger said. "Whether it's the weather or the economy, it's really the first year we've had this tough a time."

Just down the street from Miss Print, Dan Ball, owner of florist Earthly Enchantments, said he watched Monday as water lapped closer and closer to his shop. Then he watched as it filled up the side street north of his shop.

"Then I saw boats going up and down the street instead of cars," he said sitting outside the shop Wednesday. "It's just something you never expect to see."