Image Source: Pexels

Hurricane season officially starts in June each year. But, if you live in an area that is commonly affected by the dangers of the season, it’s best to start prepping sooner rather than later. Hurricane season has been starting earlier for the last six years, and it’s a trend that’s likely to continue.

If you live in a hurricane hot spot, you probably already know the basics of preparing your home as much as possible. But are you doing everything you can to keep your house safe from extreme damage?

More importantly, do you know what you can do to restore your house if it does get damaged by a powerful hurricane?

Whether you’re new to a high-risk location or you’re looking for better ways to keep your home protected from this natural disaster, you should always be prepared before and after a hurricane.

With that in mind, let’s look at a few ways to protect your house and restore it after a hurricane hits.

Preparing Your Property Ahead of Time

When you live in hurricane alley, there are a few basic preparedness tips you should know. Thankfully, most of the steps you can take are very easy and they can make a big difference. Some of the easiest ways to prepare your property include:

• Closing and locking your windows
• Resealing doors and windows
• Upgrading to impact-resistant windows
• Making sure your roof trusses have enough bracing
• Securing deck and porch posts
• Cleaning your gutters
• Installing a sump pump

Don’t forget to prepare the outside of your home, too! If you have trees surrounding your property, consider trimming back the branches so they are greater than 10 feet from your house. If the wind starts to break nearby trees and branches, it’s less likely that they’ll crash into your house and cause damage to your windows or roof.

Everyone has their own way of doing things when a hurricane is about to hit. Some people invest a lot of money in things like impact-resistant doors and waterproof storage bins for their belongings. Others cover the basics and prepare themselves for dealing with damage later.

Whether you’re staying in your home or evacuating to a safer location, make sure to do whatever you can to prepare your property ahead of time. Even a few small adjustments can help to improve your home’s structure against powerful wind and rain, so everything (and everyone) inside will remain as safe as possible.

What to Expect When You Return

Some people choose not to evacuate during a powerful hurricane. But it’s usually recommended you keep yourself and your family safe. Unfortunately, that can make returning to your home harder to bear once the storm has passed.

In some cases, you simply might not have a home to come back to. While no one wants to think about that, you can take comfort knowing that you weren’t actually in the house when it was destroyed.

Thankfully, more often than not, a bad storm just causes some damage rather than completely destroying a property.

It’s still important to brace yourself for the worst and prepare yourself mentally. When you first arrive, there are a few things you should do to get things back on track, including:

• Assessing the damage to your property, including any hazardous conditions
• Documenting the condition
• Making an insurance claim
• Contacting your utility company
• Reaching out for help with different organizations

You might find yourself displaced for a while. But, even if you can move back into your home, don’t make assumptions about its condition. Water quality might still be an issue, and it’s highly important to your safety. You might have to rely on bottled or filtered water for a while if the city’s water treatment facilities have been compromised. It can take some time for things to get back to normal, so keeping that in mind before you get back can make it easier to deal with the dire situation.

How to Start Restoring

When it’s safe to do so, you can focus on restoring your home. If it feels like an overwhelming task, focus on the things that need to get done to keep you safe first. For example, if your house experienced water damage from the storm and you’ve started to notice mold, make sure you get a professional inspection and hire a storm damage restoration professional who can take care of the water damage and mold. Mold can lurk behind drywall, beneath floors, and in attics and basements. Having someone who knows what to look for come in can offer you peace of mind.

In addition to getting rid of hazards in the air, your first step in restoration should be to air out your home as much as possible. Get rid of damaged furniture and other belongings, set up large fans in each room, and get things dry.

While your home’s interior is drying out, you can focus on cleaning up your yard. Hurricanes can cause a devastating amount of exterior damage, including:

• Broken branches
• Fallen trees
• Debris from your home/other homes
• Yard waste
• Garbage

Cleaning up your yard can feel like a positive start and something that can typically be done in a day or two. It can give you the motivation you need to tackle the rest of your house.

The restoration process after a hurricane is different for everyone. It depends on what was damaged in your home and what you consider a priority. For some people, a fresh coat of paint and a few new purchases can fix things up. For others, you might need to rebuild certain areas of your house or renovate spots that have been severely damaged.

Some of your renovation decisions may be based on your financial situation. Surviving an unexpected financial hardship isn’t easy. If you don’t want to take out a loan, consider asking friends or family for help. Or seek local funding through nonprofit organizations.

Whatever the case, make safety your top concern. If you live in an area that frequently gets hurricanes, protecting your property before, during, and after will help to ensure your family’s well-being even in the strongest of storms.

About Vince Sandri

Vince Sandri is a content writer and blogger with more than 12 years of experience. His expertise is in creating content related to disaster restoration, including information about preventing and reacting to natural disasters like flooding, water damage, fire and smoke damage, mold growth, storm damage and more.
Vince has been the main contributor to RestorationMasterFinder.com since 2014. Over that time, he has written numerous service pages and blogs for disaster restoration providers featured on RestorationMasterFinder.com. Vince has done extensive research and covered a wide range of topics relating to disaster restoration to help homeowners, business owners, and property managers better protect their property. He understands the problems that disasters like flooding, fire, smoke, and mold can cause as well as the best ways to respond to these issues to limit the damage.
Vince completed his Bachelor of Arts degree at Aurora University and his master’s degree at DePaul University. He has been writing SEO website pages, blogs, and press releases since 2012. Vince is also a musician and can be seen playing in the Chicago, IL area.