5 Storm Damage Prevention Ideas

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When the Boy Scouts were founded, they adopted a motto: Be Prepared. As others say, an ounce of prevention is worth about 9-ounces of a cure. That’s pretty good, considering the economy.

 

1. 1.Last Minute Prep

   If the storm turns into a major weather system, you might have to evacuate your humble castle. Put together a small suitcase with a change of clothes, solid memories – like pictures – and stuff you don’t ever want to lose.

   What was once a hot, sunny day has slowly become bleak. The western skies darken. Coughs of thunder, softly heard in the background become chokingly loud. A storm is coming. You are embarrassingly unprepared for the winds, hail and water that are in your immediate future. You need to act with lightning speed.

    

   Put the car in the garage and back it car up to the inside door, so the door won’t twist-up if gusts become vicious. In any part of the garage left empty, stuff your bikes, the kid’s toys, potted plants, outside furniture. Everything that isn’t nailed down outside, put into the vacant spaces around your auto.

    

   Go inside and shut every window tightly and then get away from them. Unplug small electrical appliances and power-down your PC. Crank-up the battery-powered radio. Listen to your local station that is a source for weather-related news.

2. 2.Weeks Before the Storm

   If you have trees, they most likely need a trim. Diseased or dead branches and low hanging arms can be removed anytime. But, usually it’s best to clip in spring, before leaves appear. Repeat the process in winter. Most trees are in a dormant stage when it’s cold.

    

3. 3.Lightning

   Thunderstorms hurl lightning. You don’t want to catch it. Get a couple of lightning conductor rods installed at the highest points of your house. Make sure that they are grounded, too. This way a direct strike will channel the energy straight into the earth.

4. 4.Moving the Movable

   You want to secure everything outside that could fly if heavy winds sneeze in your general direction. Store the ones you don’t use that much. If large objects, like your grill, have wheels, leave it for now. A huge reason for getting the movable objects into unmovable mode is for your protection. Heavy weather can fling what is not tied-down at your windows, car and other permanent things in your life.

5. 5.Leaks

   If you have any leaks that you’ve not fixed, fix them now. A simple drip can turn into a small river once the rain falls. Unfixed leaks that become wash-outs can create costly damage.

6. 6.Be Ready for Possible Evacuation

   If the storm turns into a major weather system, you might have to evacuate your humble castle. Put together a small suitcase with a change of clothes, solid memories – like pictures – and stuff you don’t ever want to lose. Stick it somewhere where you won’t stumble over it daily. But make sure you can get to it quickly. If you hear on your portable radio that you need to bug-out, grab it and bug-out.

    

   Finally, and this really should be at the top of this article, get a Weather Radio. These are very inexpensive tools that alert you as things are getting bad. Look for one that you can both plug-in to the wall and run on batteries. A weather radio that also has a hand-crank is a great alternative to energy cells.