There’s nothing quite as bad as being caught up in it when a storm hits that you weren’t expecting.It’s so important that you have prepared yourself, your family and your home for a storm if you’ve seen that one is on the way. 

Preparation is key if you want to ensure that your home survives the rage of a big storm and that means looking at upgrading your wood siding, ensuring that your roof remains intact and having some bug out bags to be ready just in case you have to make a quick escape. With that in mind, we’ve put together some simple things that you can do now to prepare your home and reduce any potential damage a storm could cause.

1. Have somebody regularly maintain your yard and your balcony. Securing any items that could blow around in strong winds is important because strong winds in a storm can pick up even outdoor furniture, trampolines and roofing. This can all cause damage to your windows, roof, and even your car. As much as possible, try to keep items around your property tidy and tied down.Identifying anything that you might need to secure as important because then you can get it stored away ahead of time. Storms can affect your home even if you’re on vacation, so if you’re going to be going away, make sure that you’ve secured your front yard and your backyard first.
2. Call in the roofing experts. Cleaning out the gutters, the downpipes and the drains can prevent any blockages that come with the debris of a storm. When there is huge rain to be forecasted, you can also bet there would be a lot of wind whipping up leaves, sticks and other branches. This will all make its way into your gutter and get stuck there. Clearing the leaves from the valleys of your roof will also help because this will make their way to the gutters in heavy rain and that can cause backups of blockages.
3. Trim back the trees. There are plenty of trees and branches around the edge of your property, right? If so, trim these back and make sure that they have avoided the potential of falling onto your home or your car. When you do this, you will avoid any potential damage as a result. Check with your local council though, about any guidelines or required consent applications for cutting back specialist trees. You should also contact an arborist or a tree surgeon for advice.
4. Get your roof fixed. Are you dealing with broken tiles, missing tiles, or cracked or displaced tiles in your roof? Getting these fixed and removing any buildups of dirt should be removed as much as possible so you don’t end up blocking any drainage channels. A damaged roof sheeting can also be patched or replaced and checked inside the roof space to make sure that the waterproof insulation membrane is intact.
5. Check your existing insurance policy. It needs to be current, but it also needs to be adequate. You need to know the type of cover that you’ve got and how much you’ve got going for you. Consider the level of cover that you’re insured for and whether or not you would be insured in the event of a flood or a storm. Some insurance policies have that fine print that tells you that while you may be covered for some damage, if that damage is a result of a natural disaster, you won’t be covered and you need to know that in advance.
6. Get an emergency plan going. You need to know what you’re doing in the event of an emergency, but so does your family. Any children who are old enough to understand when a storm is coming and what to do should be taught what to do. Storms and other emergencies can happen at any time of day, so you need to make sure that you think about where all of your household members may be and if they know what to do to evacuate the area. Schools should have their own plan in place, but you need to have one for your house.
7. Get an emergency kit put together. What do you need in an emergency? You might need candles, matches, batteries or a torch, blankets, emergency food, water. If you have babies, you might need nappies or formula. You need to put all these things together in a sturdy waterproof container. You should also make sure that you have potentially two of these so that you can have one in the car and one in the home. 

Top Image: Credit