How to prepare housing for American hurricanes

Hurricanes in the United States are an integral part of life, there is even a conditional name for the annual period of formation of the most powerful and destructive hurricanes in the mid-Atlantic Ocean – “Atlantic hurricane season”.

In the United States, hurricane season runs from June 1 to November 30, peaking around September 10. The least active month is May.

Hurricanes, tropical cyclones, typhoons (they are called differently all over the world) arise over a warm water surface and are accompanied by thunderstorms, heavy rainfall and storm-force winds. An ordinary storm turns into a hurricane when wind speeds exceed 30 m/s or 117 km/h.

When natural disasters occur as scheduled, people prepare for them in advance, general recommendations are introduced, laws are changed, various companies adjust to the threat. We will try to tell about the specifics of hurricanes in the USA in our article.

Preserving your home is the second most important task, after saving your life and the lives of your loved ones. Therefore, in America, everyone knows how to protect homes from global cataclysms.

1. Check your insurance. Both the end date of the insurance and the insured events that it covers are important. Regular insurance does not cover floods, so it’s important to add this item to your insurance if hurricanes are a frequent occurrence in your area. Buying insurance during the hurricane season is almost impossible or very expensive. Insurance companies know how to count money and risks.
2. Close windows and doors with additional protection. Flying objects, branches and other elements can damage the glass, after which chaos will begin already inside the house. It is also recommended to further strengthen the garage door and make additional flood protection. Many shops have vandal-resistant blinds, but in homes, ordinary plywood is usually used.
3. Turn off electricity and gas. This will avoid additional damage in the form of fires. And they are quite possible if there is a gas leak in the house or a power outage. Usually, the authorities inform when it is necessary to turn off electricity and gas (networks can be turned off centrally), and also give information on whether they can be turned back on.
4. Protect your home from branches and trees. Particularly dangerous branches can be immediately cut down and removed, trees can be prepared for a hurricane: filed and strengthened with ropes so that if they fall, they will not damage the house or car. But in a strong hurricane, this will not help in any case.
5. Buy a generator. Waiting for the restoration of centralized electricity supply is much more pleasant with your own generator. Generators are not so expensive now, but in emergency cases, you can use your own car as a generator, it is enough to purchase a special adapter in advance. This option is not as effective, but in the presence of fuel reserves, this is quite a good temporary option.
6. Make a safe room. Often such, most durable rooms, without windows and with stocks of things, are made in fragile American houses. In the event of the destruction of the house, the room must remain intact.

Making a shelter in an ordinary basement or cellar is not a good idea – in case of flooding, low-lying rooms will be filled first. The only exceptions are special sealed shelters and areas that will definitely not be flooded quickly due to rising sea levels.