Top Tips to Prepare Yourself and Your Home For Hurricane Season
The effects of a hurricane can be detrimental to you and your home. And although you can’t prevent them from happening, you can prepare yourself as much as possible to get through it. You can find some great tips below on how to get through hurricane season to protect yourself, your family and your home.
Top Tips to Prepare Yourself and Your Home For Hurricane Season
Have a plan B
It is always a good idea to have a backup plan for you and your family when hurricane season rolls around. If you end up being one of the houses majorly affected, you will need a place to stay where there is food and power. It can help to arrange plans with friends and family to stay with them if they are in an area close by that wasn’t affected.
Always have sleeping bags, cots, and overnight bags packed and ready to go so you can leave as soon as possible if your home is severely damaged. Having supplies with you and ready to go means you won’t have to stop to pick up essentials, which makes it easier to find shelter quickly and reduces a lot of stress.
Have an emergency kit ready to go and up-to-date.
Felix Billington of Magellan Motorcycle Tours says an emergency kit is a must for any household in an area that is frequented by hurricanes or any other type of natural disaster. A kit should include batteries, flashlights, power banks, non-perishable foods, water, blankets, clothing, a first aid kit, duct tape, and a radio. You should also check your kit every six months to ensure the food, medicine, and batteries are not expired and that the clothing still fits the intended wearer.
Your emergency kit’s contents can vary depending on your household, but it should contain all the essentials mentioned above. It should also be in a waterproof container and easily accessible in the event of a hurricane. Don’t store it in the basement, as basements often become flooded in an event like this, making it dangerous to access the kit.
Tie down or put away loose objects
When there is a possible hurricane warning, you mustn’t have any kid’s toys or loose lawn equipment outside of your home. These things can be thrown around and cause serious damage to you or your neighbours’ home(s). Always tie down large objects or store them in an area where they can’t cause harm.
If you have a shed or barn on your property, also make sure the doors are tightly closed and secured with a lock and that they are not falling apart. Rotting wood and loose pieces of a shed can also cause damage when hit with a hurricane. Oliver David, the founder of Green in Black and White, says it’s important to do some repairs on older storage units to keep everyone safe.
Do some landscaping
Loose branches and decaying trees are major hazards during a hurricane and can cause a lot of damage, as well as take a long time to clear them from roads and people’s yards. Before hurricane season, it’s helpful to cut off any small and light branches from trees on your property and get rid of any trees that might be rotting and can easily come out of the ground.
Also, ensure that any outdoor potted plants are kept indoors and that there are no large trees over your home that could collapse onto your home during a storm. It isn’t ideal to cut down trees on your property, but they pose a major risk to you and your home in the event of a hurricane.
Make adjustments to your exterior doors.
Mike Harvey works in the moving industry with 1st Move International and, during his work, noticed that many people’s doors are not secure enough to handle any heavy wind or sudden impact.
Your doors need to be secured during a storm to minimize the amount of damage a hurricane could cause. Strengthen your exterior door hinges, and even add more if possible. Remove any screen doors, as these can be torn off easily during a hurricane. Secure your door frames with nails at least three inches long, and consider boarding up any windows on your doors to prevent any shattering.
You also want to make sure that the entryways are sealed well to prevent a lot of water from coming in, and you need to use foam strips and towels to seal up all around your doors.
