Get your “Groovy Home” and family ready for the 2023 hurricane season by preparing before a storm approaches by following these five #HurricaneStrong steps.
Safety – Know Your Evacuation Zone
One of the most critical steps for survival is to identify whether you reside in a storm surge evacuation zone and to develop a plan for where you will be when the waters rise. Once you have your plan in place, heed all evacuation orders, and do so quickly. Remember, making the right decision to either stay or leave on a timely basis will keep you, your family, and your community’s first responders out of harm’s way. Use this updated list from FLASH to Find Your Evacuation Zone today.
Preparedness – Make a Plan. Build a Kit.
You’ll need to plan for two situations—remaining home or evacuating to a different location. Click here for a comprehensive list of supplies that you will need to stay comfortable and safe.
Resilience – Strengthen Your Home
It’s time to get the house ready for hurricane season. A well-built home can stand up to hurricanes, so gather the family to make sure your house is hurricane-ready. The best place to start is by visiting InspectToProtect.org. Use this tool to determine the building codes used in your community today, or contact your local government for information about building codes used in the past.
You can strengthen your home by performing a Do-It-Yourself Wind Inspection to find out what needs attention. Once you finish the inspection, you can get started with these one-hour, one-day, or one-weekend activities. You can find checklists and how-to videos here.
Insurance – Have a Checkup. Create an Inventory
Homeowners, renters, and flood insurance policies are the most effective financial recovery tools available for storm victims, but often many realize too late that flood insurance is a separate policy that requires a 30-day waiting period. It’s likely that you won’t be able to add a flood policy or change any of your regular policy coverages if a storm is imminent, but you should still contact your agent or company in advance. Understanding your policy limits, co-pays, deductibles, and where to call with any claims will come in handy if you are affected by the storm. Find out what types of insurance you need in this guide, If Disaster Strikes Will You Be Covered?
Service – Help Your Community
You and your family are now prepared to confront a hurricane; it’s time to think about how you can help your community. Here are a few ideas to get you started.
- Be sure everyone has a plan. Exchange information so you can stay in touch.
- Discuss how you may be able to help each other if someone is out of town. Neighbors can help each other by clearing yard debris and creating a checklist of the items to bring inside during a high-wind event.
- Get involved in community-wide efforts. One of the best things you can do for your neighbors and yourself is to be sure there’s a solid plan and a network of resources for everyone in the community and that they know how to use them.
Whether you reside along the coast or well inland, planning now and following the above advice can help you should a storm head your way. For more information, visit www.flash.org, www.hurricanestrong.org or email info@flash.org, follow @FederalAlliance on Twitter, follow FLASH on Facebook, or call (877) 221-SAFE (7233).