My company's laptop got damaged: what should I do?

My company, after a relatively long period of dedicated work, gave me a company laptop for use during smartworking days and at a customer's office. During a holiday trip I left the laptop in my home's cellar, since I feared burglary and couldn't think of a "safer" place. However, when I returned home I found that the cellar was flooded during the trip. I managed to salvage the laptop, but it's obviously not going to work in the next days and I fear that the damage may be permanent. Of course I'm responsible for it and will pay its value if needed, but how should I address this issue outside the "obvious" details? I already called and e-mailed my boss and the tech and HR department (even if it's Sunday) and apologized (probably, I was mildly shocked during the call and can't remember exactly what I said). I followed "best practice" steps to keep the damage to a minimum without infringing warranties (whatever they may be). I work in Europe, in a small and informal software company. Edit: I finally retrieved the usage agreement that came with the laptop, and it says that "I shall take utmost care of the instrument and avoid losing it" and that "any damage coming from improper usage will be taken from my salary". I guess that accidental damage is not covered, then. How do I know for sure, though? Edit #2: this morning I returned the PC to the company. The customer's company will provide me with a temporary workstation for this week, while my company tries to at least salvage the hard disk. So, productivity-wise, the situation is stable at least for a little while. The tech guys were not sure if the replacement cost was to be taken from my salary or not, I didn't bring up the issue with the boss or the HR department and they didn't either, so I guess that, unless I get explicit notice via mail or paperwork, I will find out with the next paycheck.

If you flooded the laptop the damage is likely permanent. They can save some parts. I you can then open it up an shine a lamp on it.

> 'how should I address this issue outside the "obvious" details?' Is this question about replacing the laptop, the loss on work which may not be backed up, the loss of productivity during the "no laptop" period, or somerhing else?

Good questions Ben. I think I'm mostly concerned about how to handle the situation at an emotional (how do I deal with the feeling of guilt) and interpersonal level (how do I handle the boss and the co-workers). Here I expect to find mostly answers about the second topic.

""I shall take utmost care of the instrument": well you did. A flooding cellar is not something you expect. Storing the laptop in plain sight in your car is something else. This is accidental and should always be covered!