4 Ways to Prepare for a Hurricane

Hurricanes are not only a concern for those whose homes are in the path of one, but for relatives and friends who may worry about those in the storm’s path, and getting your family and your home ready for hurricane season isn’t as easy as just closing the door and taking off. 

But whether it’s because we downplay the risks of a hurricane, we haven’t experienced a hurricane before, or we have simply become overwhelmed at the thought, some of us may tend to put those preparations off, waiting until the skies cloud up and weather warnings are deployed. Preparedness is essential for dealing with the physical challenges of hurricane season, and it will help you and your family keep peace of mind.

At GUARDIAN INSURANCE AGENCY located in Fairburn, Lagrange and Norcross, we give you four tips to make sure you and your family are protected if your home is threatened by a hurricane:

1. Ensure that your house insurance is up to date: Hurricane season is not the time to buy flood insurance since it's either unavailable or expensive. Most regular home insurance does not include flood coverage in the policy, so you'll have to buy this separately. Just in case the hurricane does do major damage to your home, this will ensure that you’ll be ready and able to rebuild once it’s all over.

2. Buy enough food and water to last a few days: Canned food is the only kind acceptable for an event such as a hurricane; check the expiration dates to make sure the food is fresh. Always have these supplies on hand so that you can respond whenever an emergency arises.

- Water, one gallon per person per day (three-day minimum)

- Food, a three-day supply of no-cook foods

- Flashlights, with extra batteries

- Hand-crank or battery-powered radio, with extra batteries

- NOAA weather radio

- First-aid kit

- Cell phone charger, inverter or solar charger

- Supply of plywood, for temporary storm shutters

- Fill up the bathtub if you decide to stay home. An average bathtub full of water holds enough water for about three days. It also makes it possible to flush the toilet using a bucket.

- There is a lot of water in the hot water heater of your home. An average 150-liter water heater has enough water to keep a single person alive for a month. See here for details.

3. Make an Emergency plan: 

- Develop an evacuation plan: Identify a location where family will meet within your neighborhood, and a second one immediately outside of it, the agency says. Contact local officials to identify community evacuation routes, and then do a test run.

- Create a family communication plan: Designate an out-of-area contact that household members can each notify when they’re safe. Program this contact and other emergency numbers into cellphones, and create a paper version to keep handy.

- Make special plans for special needs: (Older family members, those with disabilities, infants, pets, etc.)

4. Make plans to better fortify your home: 

There are affordable methods and products that can help minimize hurricane damage, including:

- Bracing garage doors

- Installing storm shutters on windows and sliding glass doors 

- Applying wood adhesive where the roof deck and rafters intersect

- Applying a peel-and-stick water barrier to roof deck joints

Remember that a Home insurance policy may help protect your wallet, your House and even offer peace of mind. Contact us for more Information, At GUARDIAN INSURANCE AGENCY located in Fairburn, Lagrange and Norcross we can help you to find the best Renters or Homeowners Insurance!For more Information contact us: (706) 884-5006 or (770) 969-5666

Please visit us: www.go-guardian.com