Natural disasters such as hurricanes and tornadoes hit the news with what seems like increasing regularity. Being prepared for one to strike is now a necessity for most homeowners. Use these tips to keep your home ready for when disaster strikes.
Generator
Using a generator like Generac Generator allows your home to have power for essential functions when the power goes out. A serious rainstorm can knock down a light pole knocking the power out for an entire area. Tornadoes and high winds can pick up telephone poles like matchsticks rendering people without power for days. Whatever reason you are without power, keep your food cold with a generator.
Plan
Make sure your family has a plan in place for any natural disaster. Whether that is a fire or a hurricane, make sure you know where to go and who to call. Even young kids should be apprised of the family plan once a month. This keeps everyone on the same page and not panicking should the time come to put the plan in action.
Electronics
To avoid electrical shock and damage to your expensive electronics, unplug them when a flood is imminent. Then move anything you can up to a higher location to keep them out of the incoming water. This may not always be a possibility for some homeowners, but the more you can move, the less you may need to replace later.
Phone
Many people rely on their smart phones as their main method of communication. Make sure you charge it fully before the storm or other disaster strikes. Then avoid using any apps while the disaster happens and afterwards if you have no power. In fact, to save the battery, you should close out any unnecessary apps. Text and phone should be the only things you use.
Memories
While many people rely on the cloud for their storage, others still keep everything on a hard drive. When you know a disaster is imminent, back up your pictures and important documents to a flash drive and to a cloud service. Take out any camera memory cards and secure them in a safe place. You can even mail certain items like memory cards and flash drives to a trusted family or friend not in the disaster area to hold onto them for you.
Batteries
Make sure you have batteries on hand for flashlights and a small radio. The radio can help you stay in touch with what is going on in the outside world. Flashlights and candles can help you see while the lights are off.
