24/7 Emergency Service
Develop a Storm Safety Plan This Season | SERVPRO® of Hayward
5/19/2022 (Permalink)
If you discover storm damage to your home or business, reach out to SERVPRO of Hayward right away.
Severe weather can develop suddenly and be very frightening. Severe storms can bring heavy rain, straight line winds, large hail and even tornadoes.
All of those events can be dangerous to your home and your family. Plus, considering that there are around 100,000 thunderstorms throughout the United States every year, severe weather events happen frequently.
In Wisconsin, we are very susceptible to quickly developing storm systems. With the flat land topography common in the Midwest and the humid and unstable air in the warmer months, these conditions make our area put us at a higher risk for twisters.
While we are not Mother Nature and cannot dictate the weather, we can be ready for it! By having an emergency kit, a way to communicate with friends and family and a plan for dealing with any potential damage, you are able to be prepared to tackle any impact an impending storm has on your life.
Being able to communicate and connect with your family members is crucial during a severe weather event, and you should always have access to receiving weather updates and communication from your local news and weather channels. It is also important to know the difference between watches and warnings so you can know to either be sky-aware or to seek shelter right away.
You should also have have multiple ways to receive updates from local officials, using devices such as your cell phone and an NOAA weather radio.
Finally, you need to have a communication strategy for your family members. Make sure everyone has one central location in your house that will serve as your safe area. It must be a place that is either fully enclosed with no windows or the innermost part of your home.
Once the storm is over, you also need to be able to connect with any household members that potentially were not home during the storm, so ensure that you have a communication strategy in place.
You should have the essentials and items that your family needs to last about 72 hours, and your kit should be packed and ready to use at a moment’s notice. It should be packed with nonperishable food, water for all members of your household, first-aid supplies and flashlights with fresh batteries.
You should also ensure that you have packed anything that your family may need to keep them comfortable while sheltering, like medication or extra eyeglasses/contacts.
After the weather has passed and all family members are safe and have been accounted for, review your safety plan and make any necessary changes. Then assess any damage done to your home. Once the weather has cleared, check your property for damage.
Take inventory of your roof and the seals around your windows and doors, as these parts of your home are most susceptible to water damage.
If you do encounter any sort of storm damage, don’t worry. Call us at SERVPRO of Hayward as soon as you can, and we will take the stress out of the process. We are a trusted team of professionals that will take control of the damage and help get your home back to normal as soon as we can.
When the storm has passed and all damage has been assessed, do a final reflection of your safety plan, taking note of what worked and what didn’t, replenish your emergency kit and edit any details that didn’t work. These adjustments will be beneficial to you and your family the next time severe weather forms.
If you discover storm damage to your home or business, you can count on SERVPRO to handle the restoration. We’re here 24⁄7 to spring into action—get in touch with us today.