Severe weather events can cause a lot of damage to your property. The scale of damage from bad weather can cost you a fortune. Floods, hailstorms, windstorms, and natural disasters are increasingly becoming commonplace. That’s why you need to be fully prepared for any disaster that comes after a severe weather event. So, how do you go about it? Let’s find out.
Be Ready For The Severe Weather Event
You need to prepare adequately for the coming weather conditions whether severe or normal. In this case, an evacuation plan should be on your mind. To achieve this goal, you should always stay informed of the weather conditions by tuning in to your local broadcasts.
Being fully prepared and aware of your next action plan when a storm or other natural disasters strike can help avoid fatalities and extensive damage to your property.
During the planning make sure to include different emergencies in your list. Also, come up with effective communication plans to keep your loved ones well-informed. Have emergency supply kits ready wherever you are to avoid being caught unprepared.
Minimize The Expected Damage
The main reason you should prepare for severe weather events is to minimize damage to your property or injuries to your family and friends.
Strong winds during tornadoes, hurricanes, and other bad storms can easily transform your compound into an inhabitable place. Companies like Edmonton Screw Piles Ltd can make sure your house and decks are secure for these conditions.
Most of the damage comes as a result of high winds affecting roofs, doors, and windows as the storm rages. Due to this damage, your home can get flooded with rainwater. This causes more damage to your household items and the interior decor of your house.
To prevent further damage to your property by severe weather events, you should take the following steps seriously:
- If there are trees and branches hanging close to your house or other critical property, make sure to trim.
- Protect your windows against damage by installing storm shutters. You can even improvise storm shutters by installing plywood panels to the windows. Nail the plywoods to all window frames to reinforce them against the impact of strong winds.
- Check each door to ensure that it has at least three well-fixed hinges. All doors must also have deadbolt locks. These two features will ensure the structural integrity of your doors in addition to keeping the doors firm throughout severe weather events.
- In case you have glass sliding doors in your house, make sure that all of them are securely covered with plywood or shutters. Sliding doors are usually vulnerable to the impact created by strong winds.
- Openings such as outdoor electrical outlets, vents, and spaces where pipes or cables go through the walls must be sealed using waterproof calking material. If you let them open during the storm, then you may be risking your house being flooded with rainwater or walls getting damaged by high winds.
Recovery After a Severe Weather Event
For most homeowners, a severe storm can lead to a devastating setback to their property. Severe weather conditions may even cost them millions of dollars in damages.
Here are the top post-disaster expenses you are likely to incur:
- Weak building foundations: Severe weather events can weaken the foundations of your structures. This happens more often when the flooding shifts or disintegrates foundations. This leads to structural damage of the floors, walls, and other parts that keep your house strong.
- Growth of molds: Once the flooding is over, you may notice the rapid growth of molds around your home. This type of fungus is not only hazardous to people but also destructive to property. If left unchecked, mold can easily spread over a vast area, creating stains and altering the appearance of your property.
- Electric and gas lines: Floods caused by bad extreme weather conditions can affect electric or gas lines within your home. The floods may shift the position of gas lines or damage them all along. In addition, floodwater can cause corrosion to the electrical wires, gas pipes, and other metals.
- Ceiling damage: Rains and winds can cause roof leaks and ceiling damage, making it collapse. The leaks from the ceiling may extend to the walls, doors, and windows, changing the appearance of your home.
- Roof damage: Strong winds usually damage shingles, roof decking, turbine vents, underlayment, and chimneys.
- Windows and doors: The aftermath of high winds and floods may cause pop-out of doors and windows. This is especially true of sliding doors.
The above-mentioned incidences are common in most homes after severe weather events. If your home suffers damages such as those mentioned above, take the initiative of reviewing your flood insurance policies. This includes their limits prior to starting recovery efforts. Make sure to document every damage by taking photos to back up your insurance claim.
Final Thought
If you live in areas prone to severe weather events, you need to find a way to protect your home and property in general. These severe weather events can be in the form of floods, strong winds, tornadoes, hurricanes, hail, and even wildfire. Such damages call for immediate repair and restoration services to restore your home to its previous condition.