Preparing for a Hurricane

Preparing for a Hurricane

The thought of a hurricane can create a lot of anxiety, but you can prepare yourself, your home and your family with a few steps. You may not know yet how a hurricane will affect your home but you can take the time to prepare for several possible scenarios to be ready in the event of an emergency. Tropical storms and hurricanes bring heavy winds and rain

Preparing your home:

  • Determine your risk – Is your area susceptible to flooding and storm surge? You may need to leave after making preparations to protect your investment
  • Understand your homeowners insurance – Does your policy cover flood damage, wind damage? You may need to make changes to your policy. Document the contents of your home.
  • Inspect your roof – You should make sure there are not any loose shingles or tiles, check for anything out of the ordinary and make repairs where necessary.
  • Put up shutters – Protect your windows and doors.
  • Use sandbags for flooding – Make sure you have extras in case you need to block water from inside your home.
  • Secure outdoor items – It’s easy to forget about the outside of your house and yard when you are trying to secure everything else.
  • Prepare for power outages – If you have a generator make sure it is serviced and fueled up. If you do not have a generator make sure you have enough batteries for your flashlights, along with matches and fuel for lanterns.
  • Help your neighbors – If you are done securing your home and it is safe to help, lend and helping hand to your neighbors.

Preparing your family:

  • Create an emergency plan – This should include evacuation routes and where your nearest shelter is. You can also include emergency contacts.
  • Stock up on nonperishable food and water – Choose food items with a long shelf life, such as canned goods and packaged pantry items. Make sure you have one gallon of drinking water per day per person in your household.
  • Medication and First aid – Have enough prescription and over the counter medication for those who need it.
  • Pack a go bag – In case you need to evacuate your bag should include clothing, socks an extra pair of shoes and toiletries and medicine.
  • Cash & Gas – Having cash on hand is important, banks may be closed and ATM’s may be down. Gas in your vehicle is important in case you need to leave your home suddenly.
  • Important Documents – Important papers and documents should be stored in a waterproof container.
  • Monitoring – Watch news and weather reports in your area so that you can be aware of and changes to the storm and its path.
  • Evacuate – If disaster strikes please do not stay in your home.

No one can predict how a storm with affect your city or community until it actually hits. Taking precautions and making preparations is the best thing you can do to keep your family safe. Following advice of your local government and weather experts will help you to feel prepared and calm.

Hurricane - Hurricane Prep

 

 

Preparing for a Hurricane

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

Scroll to top