April showers bring May flowers, but those showers can also cause significant damage to your home and valuables. Flooding can cause significant damage to a home, such as mold buildup, chemical spillage, and sewage backup. This not only causes a danger to your family, but causes contamination to many of the items in your home. Plus, if you lose power it may not come back for days. Therefore, it’s important to plan ahead to stay safe.
Stock up on necessities before a storm.
Make sure you have a storm safety kit, fill a few plastic storage bin with items such as:
- A first aid kit
- Flashlights / lanterns
- Matches
- Non perishable foods (canned tuna, beans, etc.)
- Can opener
- Batteries
- Battery or hand operated radio
- Toiletries (deodorant, toilet paper, toothbrushes)
- Blankets
- Spare clothes (grab things you aren’t worried about getting dirty or wet)
- Rubber gloves
- Rubber boots
- List of emergency contacts
- Cash (if the power is out in your area you won’t have access to an ATM)
Stock up on water.
Go to the store and buy some bottles or fill clean containers at home with water from the tap, either way make sure to have enough water in case you’re out of power for a while. Additionally, severe floods can also contaminate the water supply with bacteria, chemicals, and sewage. You won’t be able to shower, brush your teeth, or drink the water if it’s declared unsafe.
Invest in a portable power bank.
You can find these at a variety of retailers and online. You can charge power banks through a computer or wall outlet beforehand and use it to charge your phone when another power source isn’t available.
Update your home inventory.
Make sure you have an accurate record of your belongings because once it is lost or damaged you may not be able to get it back. In fact, our mobile app can store pictures and information of every single thing in your home so you won’t have to worry about losing papers or lists.
Take items indoors.
Outdoor furniture, such as a patio set, can get ruined and lost in a storm. Make sure to bring it into a safe location in your home. If you can’t do that, safely cover it with a tarp and tie it down.
Don’t forget about flood insurance.
Getting flood insurance is also another way to protect yourself during a severe storm. This is particularly true if you live in an area that is prone to flooding from inclement weather or rain storms. While home and auto insurance cover normal damages, flood insurance protects you from the excess liability you would owe if flooding caused significant damage to your property. Many homeowners have to pay thousands of dollars out of pocket to replace the items they already spent a lot of money on.
Implement a safety plan.
Make sure your family understands where they need to be during severe weather, how to shelter in place, and places they can go in case they’re caught in dangerous weather outdoors.
Stay home.
Finally, if you can, don’t drive out during severe weather (unless there is an evacuation and being home isn’t safe). If you happen to be out during a flood or a storm, make sure to avoid wooded areas because trees could fall on you or your vehicle. Also, avoid roads near bodies of water. Don’t put yourself or others at risk because you’re stuck somewhere.
Take these tips into consideration and you’ll be well on your way to protecting yourself and your family. Do you have any ways you prepare before a big storm? We’d love to hear about it in the comments below!