Five Things You Can Do To Protect Your Home In a Hurricane

Say hello to Andrea, Barry, Chantal, Dean, Erin and all their friends. If this year proves to be as active a hurricane season as the meteorologists predict, you could well be on a first name basis with them soon. While it’s probably impossible to completely hurricane-proof your home, there are some steps that you can take to lessen the damage your home is likely to sustain.

 

FLASH (Federal Alliance for Safe Homes) offers a DIY Wind Inspection checklist with step by step instructions. Download it, print it out and spend a Saturday afternoon checking your home for vulnerabilities to the high winds. The more you know, the better you can prepare yourself. After you’ve identified problems, figure out which you can fix yourself and which require a professional – and then get them done.

 

Protecting the openings of your home from intrusion by wind and water is the single most important thing you can do to protect your home – and your family. There are many different styles of storm shutters that can be pre-installed so that covering up is a matter of minutes when the storms roll in. Even if you choose to use plywood to cover windows and doors during a storm, you should install the anchoring system well in advance so that you can just buckle the shutters into place when the storm is imminent.

 

Reinforcing roof attachments with hurricane straps or clips will help keep your roof anchored in case of a storm. Other reinforcements to consider – gable roof braces, horizontal braces for garage doors, and anchorage reinforcements for outdoor buildings and equipment.

 

One of the major sources of damage during a hurricane is flying objects. Hurricane force winds are capable of blowing automobiles into trees – your gas grill doesn’t stand a chance. Keep bushes and trees healthy and trimmed, and when a storm is imminent get all outdoor equipment that can’t be buckled down and braced indoors away from the wind.

 

Many of the protective measures that you take can result in premium reductions on your homeowners insurance. Be sure that your insurance is up to date and will cover the replacement cost of any damages to your home, though. While an insurance policy can’t prevent damage to your home in a storm, up to date coverage will make all the difference in the world in repairing any damages that do occur.