Hurricane season is upon us. Are you ready? Preparing your home keeps your family safe and limits the potential damage your property sustains. Here, we’ll discuss hurricane preparedness and offer some tips for getting ready for a big storm.
Make plans.
Make an evacuation plan with multiple destinations and an emergency pack list. Keep emergency contacts in physical and digital formats. Make sure your family is familiar with the plan, and consider running evacuation drills. Next, stock up with seven days’ worth of non-perishable food and bottled water, tools, flashlights, a radio, and extra batteries, clothes, bedding, plasticware, a waterproof container with important documents, games and comfort items, and first aid supplies, including prescriptions and personal hygiene items.
Take stock of your possessions.
Inventory your home before a hurricane hits, so you’ll be ready if you need to file an insurance claim or apply for disaster aid. Review your insurance policy before a named storm occurs, so that you can make any necessary coverage adjustments.
Secure your home’s exterior.
Hurricane winds can send debris flying. Secure windows, sliding glass doors and entryways with plywood or hurricane shutters to prevent breakage and interior damage. Keep wind and water out by sealing exterior vents with marine-grade plywood, installing covers on outdoor electrical outlets, putting bibs on garden spigots and caulking around cables and pipes that penetrate the exterior wall of the house. Consider installing roof straps as well as reinforcing your garage door.
Move anything that could become airborne, including furniture, planters, bikes, toys and other outdoor items to a secure location. Trim trees and branches so they won’t break off during a storm. If you have a pool, cover it and secure the cover; if you have a shed, close and secure the door. Check your foundation and repair cracks, cover your outside HVAC components, and if you have a sump pump, test it ahead of time.
Get the interior.
Secure wall hangings, and take any outdoor art inside. Turn your refrigerator to the coldest setting to prevent spoilage in a power outage and remove fuses from your air conditioner to protect it from damage. If you need to evacuate, unplug all of your major appliances. If possible, move small electronics to a higher floor. Turn off the main water valve to the home, cut off the electricity at the circuit breaker, and turn off the gas at each appliance.
Vehicle prep
Fill the gas tanks and move your cars to higher ground or into your garage and away from trees and power lines.
If your Northeast Florida home is damaged in a hurricane or tropical storm, call SERVPRO of The Beaches/Ponte Vedra. Our highly trained restoration technicians have the experience and equipment to restore your Jacksonville, Jacksonville Beach or Ponte Vedra home to its pre-storm condition. A trusted leader in the water restoration industry, we’ve served our community for more than 40 years. Call 904-246-6118 or contact us through our website at servpro.com/locations/fl/servpro-of-jacksonville-beach-ponte-vedra/contact.
