How to Plan for Potential Disasters That Can Happen in Your Home

As a homeowner, you need to take full responsibility for whatever happens in your home. This means planning for any disasters that could occur. Without planning for disasters, you can end up with a home in an unlivable situation. Make sure you plan for these disasters.

Fires

Fires can scare homeowners a lot. Homeowners should be scared, as fires can end up quickly burning down your home before you have time to react. To prevent harm from fire, you'll have to take a couple of measures. First, make sure all of your fire detectors in your home are working. These make it so that you're alerted of any fire happening, allowing you to sleep and walk around your home without having to worry about a fire. You'll also want to make sure that you purchase a fire extinguisher for your home. With a fire extinguisher, you can take care of small fires around your home without having to wait for the fire department to come by. Make sure you take both of these measures to ensure that your house doesn't burn down from a fire.

Water

Whether it be from a regular storm in the summer or a hurricane, you need to worry about water getting in your home. To do this, get an inspection on your home to see if you have any spots where water could get in from the outside. Without doing this, your home can end up having mold through the walls, costing you a lot more money than if you just paid attention to your home more.

If you have water damage, you need to make sure that you take care of it soon as possible. That means going through a company like Servpro of Beaufort County to fix your water damage, assuring that you aren't racking up bills over time. Ensure that you prevent water from getting into your home if you want to prevent disasters.

By knowing how to take care of disasters, you can ensure that you have a home to live in for the rest of your life. Just make sure that all of your equipment is up-to-date all of the time, otherwise, that equipment could be useless in times of emergency. 

You'll also want to make sure that everyone living in your home knows how to stop disasters as they occur. This ensures that your home will be safe, regardless if you're home at the time or not.

Guest Post - Preparing Your Home Before a Disaster

No one wants to think about having to go through any kind of damaging disaster. But, it’s impossible to ignore the recent uptick in hurricanes, wildfires, earthquakes, and other damaging feats of nature that are causing serious problems. 

While you can’t prevent these disasters from occurring, there are things you can do to protect your home. It’s a crucial practice, even if you’re nowhere near a “danger zone”. Being proactive about these things will help to keep you and your loved ones safe. 

Let’s take a look at a few of the most common disasters (both natural and unnatural) and how you can prepare yourself and your home for them. 

Taking Care of Yourself

One of the best things you can do for yourself and your family is to educate yourself on the common types of disasters in this country, including: 

• Hurricanes

• Earthquakes

• Fires

• Flooding

• Tornadoes
  It’s also a good idea to take a look at where you are in the country to determine which disasters are most likely to affect you. You might notice that your home is constructed a certain way. It might have a coastal crawlspace or waterproof basement depending on where you live. Taking a look at things like that will give you an indication of what you can expect. 

Preparation for yourself and your loved ones should include having a plan in place for any type of disaster. Your family should know their evacuation route, and you should know which shelters in your area you should be going to. Planning ahead and even “practicing” for these situations can make a big difference if they ever occur. 

Taking Care of Your Home

If you live in an area that is commonly known for certain disasters, there are steps you should take to protect your home. That starts by looking at your foundation and any maintenance issues that need to be addressed. If you’re considering moving to a new home, consider things like: 

• Structural issues

• Damage to roofing

• Water damage (be sure to check the attic!)

• Fire hazards (electrical system)

• Mold or other toxins

If you’re not moving and want to prepare your current home, don’t be afraid to take on a few DIY projects to help with everything from structural integrity to waterproofing certain areas. Seal up any cracks in the foundation, look for any rotting and take care of any water damage, and strengthen the overall structure of your home from the inside out. You might not be able to prevent a disaster from causing damage, but you might be able to minimize that damage with the right proactive steps. 

Taking Care of Your Finances

After disaster strikes, whether it’s something like an earthquake or a house fire, you might be left with serious damages to take care of. The cleanup itself can be overwhelming. But, dealing with insurance companies and wondering how you’re going to rebuild anything is the real long-term issue. 

One of the best things you can do is to prepare yourself ahead of time. You never know when an unfortunate event might strike. So, having money stored away in a savings account is a great way to not be so dependent on insurance. 

You also might consider taking out a personal loan either before or after a disaster. It’s easier than you might think if you can still gather your personal information and you have a reliable credit score. 

It’s easy to look at your home after a disaster and think to yourself, “what now?”, but preparing as much as possible ahead of time will give you peace of mind that you can get through this, and move forward in every way.

Author Bio: Noah Rue is a freelance writer.

Natural Disaster Home Preparedness Guide

Preparing for an emergency is something that everyone knows they’re supposed to do, but how many of us actually do it as well as we should? Many people cut corners on emergency supplies — after all, it’s an easy choice between getting groceries for the week and replenishing slightly expired emergency supplies. 

However, with natural disasters like hurricanes and earthquakes costing billions of dollars each year, it’s clear that being prepared for an emergency is crucial so you have a plan if the time ever comes. Keep reading to learn safety preparedness tips for common natural disasters and for a downloadable checklist of disaster supply necessities. 

Hurricanes

Hurricanes, or tropical cyclones, are powerful natural disasters that affect much of the United States. With the Eastern Pacific, Central Pacific, and Atlantic all having hurricane seasons, it’s important to be prepared for any category of a hurricane that might come your way. Keep reading for some tips on preparing for a hurricane:

• Know where your electricity flip off switch is

• Have a crank radio to listen to updates from authorities if landlines are down

• Have a set place in your house where your family will meet, away from windows and on a lower level

• Clear debris like fallen tree branches  from outside your house to prevent it from becoming dangerous during high winds. 

Wildfires

Wildfires have become especially prevalent in recent years, with a total of nearly 340,000 structures destroyed in 2019 alone. States like California, North Carolina, Georgia, and Texas are the most likely to be affected by wildfires, but it’s important that your whole family knows what to do just in case. Here are some wildfire preparedness tips for your home:

• Consistently clear flammable items near your house like dried leaves and pine needles

• Choose non-flammable outside decor like gravel instead of wood chips or tanbark

• Create fuel breaks like driveways or gravel paths

• Make sure everyone knows how to shut off the gas to your home

• Create a family exit plan

Earthquakes

Earthquakes are sudden natural disasters that can come on without warning and are particularly likely on the west coast of the U.S. in areas like Alaska, California, Hawaii, and Washington. Being prepared for an earthquake is especially important since they happen instantaneously so you have no time to prepare or brief your family on what’s going on. Here’s how you can keep your home secure during an earthquake:

• Keep heavier items on the ground floor of your home

• Have a fire extinguisher in the house

• Practice shutting off utilities with your family

Preparing for a natural disaster isn’t fun, but it is important. For an easy way to make sure your home is prepared for an emergency, check out this printable disaster supply checklist by TurboTenant to keep your home and family secure.