Everybody dreads hurricanes as they cause a myriad of hazards. If you are living along a coastline, there is even more to fear. Hurricanes often cause heavy rains, storms, tornadoes, high winds, and all the natural calamities you can think of. Hurricanes lead to billions of dollars of losses every year and countless loss of lives. Hurricanes inflict the loss of lives and property. It is vital for homeowners in areas prone to hurricanes to take necessary measures to protect their property and the occupants.
Here is what you need to do to protect your home and family from the impact of hurricanes.
1. Avoid large trees and shrubs around your building
Large trees have the potential to wreak havoc in your home if a hurricane hits. While trees with strong and deep roots may not get uprooted by a storm, there is still danger. Remember that they have branches, and the weaker limbs can break and fall on your house causing damage to your belongings and even injuries.
To prevent damage, consider cutting trees having codominant trunks or the dead or dying trees, as they are less likely to be spared by a hurricane. Also, consider doing some pruning to prevent the branches from breaking during a hurricane.
2. Do not use lightweight things outside the building
It would be best if you stored the lightweight stuff inside the house during the hurricane season. This includes furniture, garden tools, and garbage cans that can be thrown and break windows, or even cause injuries. The lesser the lightweight flying objects outside your house, the safer you are, and the better your property will be protected.
3. Never use ordinary glass
If you live in hurricane-prone areas, then it is time you should stop using regular glass for your windows. Replacing the standard glass with impact resistance will go a long way in enhancing safety against a hurricane. How does this type of glass help?
Impact resistant glass goes through glazing whereby layers of glass are sandwiched with a polymer. This results in perfect lamination of strong glass, which does not break. While the layer outside may shatter, the polymer holds the layer inside intact.
Depending on the intensity of the hurricane in your neighborhood, you can work with the glass varying thicknesses. Coastal areas are more susceptible to damage, and they, therefore, need greater thickness. Areas far away from the coast can work with a regular thickness, which is usually 7/16 inches.
4. Patio area should not be full of expensive items
You can count on a hurricane to cause damage to furniture. It is a costly affair having to replace your patio furniture after every hurricane season. It is even worse if the furniture is expensive. Since there is only much you can do to prevent hurricanes from happening in the first place, you should fix the one thing you can control. Use simple furniture in your patio so that you won’t have to spend a lot replacing them if they get damaged.
5. Never Park your vehicle outside the boundary wall
A car is a significant investment, and it should be protected during a hurricane. That is why you are advised not to park it outside the boundary wall. The best place to park it should be inside the boundary wall where there is also a wall barrier left, right and in front of the vehicle.
Parking your car outside the boundary walls exposes it to the elements that will result from the hurricane. By parking your vehicle inside, you will protect it from being uprooted by a storm. It will also be protected from flash floods, which will cause damage. With full coverage, you will protect your car from dents and scratches from flying debris.
6. Never place your essential documents, drives, and laptops in an open location
Drives, documents, and laptops contain valuable information. Remember that these are light materials and will easily be blown away by winds and thrown off by storms. Keeping them in an enclosed location will go a long way in protecting them. Also, these are items that can easily get damaged by water, and as you are aware, unwelcome quantities of water are a characteristic of hurricanes. You can, but a waterproof safe, and you will rest assured that your valuable documents, electronics, and data are protected regardless of how big a hurricane is.
7. Never forget having a backup plan
Sometimes hurricanes get out of hand, and despite the measures you take to protect your property, you get defeated. The next thing that such hurricanes will do is claim your life and that of your family. That is why you need to have an evacuation strategy in place.
Your strategy should include meeting spots. When a hurricane strikes, confusion always results, and this can separate the family members. That is why you should come up with agreed spots far from the house. It could be a parking space somewhere or a different town. Whichever place you choose, ensure that it is safe and accessible to all family members.
Have a car emergency kit with all the essential supplies you will need if you have to be on the road. It is also vital that you familiarize yourself with several routes out of your town as some may be flooded with obstacles such as trees. Having alternative evacuation routes will ensure that you don’t waste a minute in an unsafe location.
Hurricanes are disastrous, and the damage they cause is significant, some of which families are never able to recover from. That is why you need to stay prepared if you live in areas prone to this calamity. Installing impact-resistant windows, backing your cars inside boundary walls, ensuring that there are no trees near your house, and designing an evacuation strategy is what you need to do to protect your family and property.
