Are you looking for ways to protect your home from storm damage this year? Well, we don’t blame you!
After all, the United States is no stranger to extreme weather. Since 1980, there have been a whopping 323 such disasters where the damages hit or exceeded $1 billion. According to the same source, the combined cost of those storms tops $2.195 trillion.
While there’s no way to avoid these calamities altogether, there are plenty of tools and tactics that can prevent them from causing excessive damage to your property. Keep reading to find out all about them.
Remove Outdoor Items
When a big storm’s on the horizon, having a lawn strewn with furniture, tools, plant pots, and sporting equipment is a recipe for trouble. The high winds can whip through town, picking up and hurling such items through the air. If they connect with your home or (even worse) a person, they can cause serious damage.
That’s why you should stow everything away beforehand. Try moving loose items indoors, storing them in the garden shed, or, if all else fails, doing what you can to secure them to the ground.
Install Shutters
Moving everything indoors doesn’t guarantee your home won’t be struck by debris though. You may have forgotten something, for example, or the neighbors might have left items out by accident. Of course, there are always branches, sticks, and stones lying around that the wind can send flying as well.
Storm shutters are arguably the best way to protect your home in these scenarios. They provide a shield for your windows that stops the glass from shattering. This in turn prevents the wind from entering your house and causing chaos inside.
Trim Your Trees
We’ve all seen the awful images of trees that have been uprooted by storms and fallen on peoples’ homes and/or cars. This often comes down to sheer bad luck, but it’s still sensible to examine the trees in your yard for signs of weakness. Get into the habit of looking for loose branches that might snap off in high winds, for instance.
If you spot anything, you can then hire a professional to saw them off in advance- thus removing the risk and protecting your home. For further incentive to do this on a regular basis, get more information on emergency roofing repairs! Understanding what happens if your roof does gets damaged is a sure-fire way to take steps to avoid the fate.
Have an Emergency Power Supply
Having a backup generator at home can be a literal lifesaver in extreme weather situations. Remember, with high winds and debris flying through the air, electrical lines can be extremely vulnerable. When they get damaged, the power cuts that ensue are inconvenient at best and downright dangerous at worst.
A generator will kick in during these moments, restoring power to your home (at least temporarily). You’ll have light, warmth, and electricity to charge your phones.
Time to Protect Your Home From Storm Damage
Given the number of storms that hit the US and the damage they cause each year, it’s sensible to take action and find effective ways to protect your home. If you’re trying to do exactly that, then we hope the insights in this article have helped.
Keep them in mind, put them into action, and you should be able to sleep a little sounder at night the next time an extreme weather event takes place. Want to read more articles like this one? Check out the rest of our blog today.