How to Prepare Your Home for Natural Disasters

8/10/2021 (Permalink)

Your home is a central aspect of your life. It is your own personal space that you share with your loved ones, such as your parents, siblings, spouse, or children. Your home is where most of your dearest memories are made and you probably want to protect it forever.

However, natural disasters are common. They can wipe away all the memories you have made in your beautiful home in a split second if you are not adequately prepared for the disaster.

Preparing for a Hurricane

One natural disaster that combines many different disasters is a dangerous hurricane. It can bring heavy rainfall, winds that are faster than 150 MPH, extreme thunderstorms, and even flash floods in areas that are near the coastline.

In the US, hurricanes are especially common between June to November and it is important to prepare for them accordingly.

Hazards of a Hurricane

When a hurricane hits your area, there are many hazards that you need to look out and prepare for. These include

1. Storms: A dangerous storm can affect both human life and property in just a few minutes. In the surge of a hurricane, ocean water is pushed towards the coast. When combined with the high, swirling winds, such storms can cause major damage to the structure of your home.
2. 2. Winds: Hurricanes don’t have normal winds. Instead, the wind is as fast as 150 MPH and has a swirling direction. This can easily destroy entire buildings or cause irreparable damage to the foundational structure of the building.
3. Heavy Rainfall and Floods: When a hurricane hits, it is accompanied by tropical storms that can bring rainfall of more than 6 inches. As the water builds, there can be flash flooding in low-lying coastal areas. This is extremely dangerous for people who live in the inlands, especially because they may not have sufficient time to evacuate in such situations.

Hurricane and Natural Disaster Preparation Guidelines

Here are a few things you can do beforehand in order to minimize the damage caused by hurricanes or other natural disasters in your area:

1. Assess Your Home

Before you start taking any precautions to prepare for a hurricane, it is important to first analyze the risks of your own home. You can check with contractors or damage repair companies to ask whether the foundational structure and landscaping of your home will be able to survive heavy winds and storms. After the inspection, you may be required to have a few repairs made in your home to make the structure sturdier.

2. Removal of Debris and Garbage

Since storms and hurricanes come with intense winds, it is important to remove any dead trees or garbage material such as logs of wood that could be blown into your house due to extreme wind pressure.

3. Make an Evacuation Plan and Kit

If you live in a low-lying coastal area, it is important to have an evacuation plan in place that all of your family members are aware of. Apart from the plan, you also need to prepare a kit that must be equipped with food and water supplies, essential medication, a first-aid kit, and a battery-powered flashlight.