Hurricanes have become an increasingly common event. Every year, homeowners are threatened with hurricane-force winds and torrential rainfall. The severity leaves people homeless, ruin finances, and cause untold property damage wherever they hit. Unfortunately, storms have become a part of life. Whether or not you believe that climate change is to blame isn’t even the issue.
Protecting Your Home From a Hurricane
As with many catastrophic events, prevention goes a long way toward containing the amount of damage from a storm. There are steps you can and should take to protect your home before it occurs. Please be sure to pay attention to these tips if you live in an area that is prone to this severe weather.
Keep Hurricane Shutters on Premises
Hurricane shutters cover your windows so they don’t blow in and spread broken glass all over your home. If you can, invest in steel hurricane shutters and keep them ready to install, in your garage or shed. Otherwise, keep sheets of plywood handy so you can nail them into place over windows.
Remove Dead or Old Trees
Trees with bad roots are easily uprooted in storms. They often land on rooftops or cars. If you have any dead or old trees on your property, get them removed so they don’t add to the destruction of the looming inclement weather.
Protecting Your Home and Family During a Hurricane
What you do during hurricane impacts how well you and your family will fare. First, avoid parties, where neighbors gather to drink and party. You’ll need to have your wits about you during the hurricane so you don’t make senseless mistakes in judgment. Second, don’t be tempted to see how high the waves are, or to play around with leaning into the wind. Many a person has been swept into the sea while standing on a rock wall or outcropping, watching the rough waves. And while you’re leaning into the wind, you could easily be hit by flying debris, which is the number one cause of human injury during the storm.
Stay inside, stay sober, and ride out the storm in a secure area of your home unless authorities recommend evacuating the area. In that case, take the experts’ advice and move your family to a friend’s house, family’s house, or hotel until the hurricane danger is over.
What To Do After a Hurricane
Be careful about walking around your home after a storm. The structural integrity of the house might have been compromised. Your first phone call should be to your public insurance adjuster. They can come out, take photographic and video evidence, and help you navigate your insurance claim.
If you live in a hurricane area, keep the contact information of a reputable public adjuster on your phone. That way, if your home is damaged to the point where you can’t get inside, you’ll still be able to call the one person you can rely on to help you get your life back together.
Contact SunPoint Public Adjusters, Inc. if you’re received damage to your property from the storm.