4 Things You Can Do to Protect Your Home from Storm Damage

June 8, 2018

What are the things you can do to protect your home from storm damage?

Guard your windows
Secure any loose objects
Prepare your appliances for power outages
Make an inventory of your home

As summer comes to an end, it marks the beginning of the rainy season here in the Philippines. Using your power tools, you can now protect your home and other property from the looming storms and the damage they may bring.

Every year, millions of Filipinos prepare themselves around this time for storm season. The frequency and severity of these storms is anybody’s guess but inevitably, a lot of homeowners end up dealing with damage to their property as a result of this extreme weather. The most common of these types of property damage you can usually see is damage to the roof and sidings of the house as a result of heavy winds.

While you cannot control the weather, there are still a lot of things you can do to protect your family and your home from the storm. In addition, most of the things you do to protect your home can also help protect the home and property of your neighbor. Here are four things you can do to protect your home from storm damage:

Guard Your Windows

Guard your windows

One of the most vulnerable and weakest parts of your home during a major storm are entry points like windows and doors. You can board up your windows and doors with storm shutters or even just plywood in order to greatly reduce the chance of them breaking or shattering.

Considering a broken door or window can leave the rest of your home exposed to the rain, wind, and flying debris, this is one of the most important things you can do to prepare for a storm.

You can also opt to install impact-resistant windows if you live in a particularly prone area. It is a highly-effective, but a more expensive option. The design of an impact-resistant window makes them perform much like the windshield of a car. Window panels can crack into spiderweb-like patterns when hit but without completely shattering.

Plywood is fairly cheap in countries like the Philippines, and when power tools are used to install them properly, it can hold up just as well as any storm shutters against strong winds.

Secure any loose objects

Any outdoor objects you may have outside your home can become deadly, airborne missiles when they are swept up by the strong winds of the storm. This can potentially damage your property as well as the property of your neighbor.

Make sure that you tie down, pick up, or secure anything that can become a projectile with high winds. You should also consider trimming down the branches of any trees around your property to reduce the chance of stray limbs falling. You should also clean up the things around your home and yard such as lawn furniture, children’s toys, and potted plants so they do not get picked up by the wind.

Prepare your appliances for power outages

A downed electrical pole, a short circuit, or even a lightning strike can cause the power voltage in your home to soar to hundreds or even thousands of volts. It can only last a millisecond but a sudden power surge can do very serious damage to the expensive appliances in your home.

Unplugging all of your appliances during a storm is a good option, but purchasing a surge protector can be the better choice. Surge protectors can help protect your electrical appliances from voltage spikes caused by power surges.

Experts in the industry agree that surge protectors can even be the more practical option than unplugging your appliances a few days before the storm hits.

Make an inventory of your home

In the event that your belongings or your home is damaged, knowing exactly what items are in your home are important during the post-storm recovery efforts. Making an inventory of your home can be as simple as snapping photos of the contents of each of the rooms in your home using your phone camera.

Take note of the serial number of item number of your belongings because this can help you during recovery or when you are filing a claim with your insurance company.

For the most part, trying to remember everything you have can be a challenge for most people because they are also experiencing the emotional part of dealing with the recovery of their items. Make this process easier and make sure that all your items are accounted for.

Key Takeaway

If there is anything you should always keep in mind during times of calamity, it is to never forget to protect the people. Your house and the things inside it can be replaced, but your family cannot.

Implement a storm safety plan well in advance, including a safe location you can hide out in like a storm shelter or even a basement and ride out the worst of the weather in safety.

Even though the storm season brings a lot of uncertainty every year, there are always things that you can do about it.