Hurricane Tips & Tricks to Protect Your Home

It’s hurricane season and this year it’s hitting locally; so here are a few tips and tricks to make sure you protect your home:

1. Garage Doors: Most people believe that their roof is the most vulnerable part of their house during a hurricane, however, the most vulnerable part of your home is actually your garage door— this is especially important to consider if your garage is attached to your house. If your garage doors are not reinforced, your roof and the rest of your house are at greater risk for damage. As wind enters your house it pushes your roof outward, while storm winds outside of your house are pulling your roof—long story short, your roof could fly off. So what can you do to help prevent this? There are kits you can buy at home-improvement stores such as Lowe’s or Home Depot to help brace and reinforce your garage door.
2. Hold your roof down. You can buy hurricane straps to help secure your roof to the rest of your house. If you have trouble finding these at your local home-improvement stores, see the National Weather Service, DisasterSafety.org, or call up your grandparents’ retired friends in Florida for more information.
3. Myth: Masking tape helps to secure your windows during a hurricane. Contrary to popular belief, masking tape actually does nothing for your windows. Make sure to lock all windows and doors (deadbolts are best for doors). Also, if you don’t have hurricane shutters, board up your windows—plywood works best.
4. This one may not be helpful if the hurricane has already been predicted, but make sure your insurance is updated.
5. Sandbags: Stack sandbags to create barriers around your doors and windows and other areas around the outside of your house that may be vulnerable to flooding.
6. Always remember to take inventory of your things—making insurance claims a whole lot easier.
7. Water: Have enough water for everyone for 3 days, and enough dry, canned, non-perishable food that do not need power in order to cook or consume.
8. Trim Your Trees & Clear the Yard. The last thing you need during a hurricane is loose limbs around the home or your kids bicycles flying through your neighbor’s window.

by Opal Edwards

Sources: Lankford, Kimberly. 6 Steps to Protect Your Home from Hurricanes. Kiplinger. June 4, 2010. DisasterSafety.org Lankford, Kimberly. Your Tree, Your Neighbor’s Property: Whose Insurance Pays? May 17, 2017.