» Better Safe than Sorry: How to Protect Your Home from Natural Disasters
Better Safe than Sorry: How to Protect Your Home from Natural Disasters
You lock your doors. You close the garage. You turn on the house alarm. You care about your home and want to protect it, but what about the things you can't control? What about floods, fires, mudslides, hurricanes and earthquakes? We have all witnessed the tragedy of natural disasters and how they destroy the homes of hundreds upon thousands of families annually. There are precautions you can take to make sure you're prepared for the worst.
Planning Measures
You should not have to live everyday worrying about slight changes in weather, but there certainly is no Land of Oz when the tornado has ended. The following are tips on preparing your home just in case Kansas gets crazy.
- Protect Your Documents. Perhaps you already have a safe place for items like passports, birth certificates, and bank account information. Keeping them in a locked file cabinet will not protect those items from flood or fire damage. Purchasing a small, weather-proof safe will not only protect those documents from natural disasters but also deter burglars from stealing your private information. If you leave home for extended periods of time, it may be wise to also include items of sentimental value like pictures and jewelry in your safe.
- Prevent Easy Accidents. Though you can't really prepare for earthquakes and mudslides, you can be assertive with your basic home care. Simple actions like keeping your chimney flue clean can prevent dramatic accidents. Remember to never leave candles unattended. Properly dispose of cigarettes. Make sure to immediately address any home plumbing oddities. Be smart in preventative actions instead of embarrassed with bad choices.
- Plan an Escape Route. Nothing is more important than the physical safety of you and your family. When it is clear that your home needs to be vacated due to a natural disaster, avoid tragedy by having an escape route. Make sure every family member is aware of the escape plan and knows emergency phone numbers. Review your planned escape route at least once a year.
- Invest in Home Insurance. The best thing you can do for your family and home is to purchase home insurance. Why risk your family's home by skipping out on one of the most important preventative measures you can take? Also, it is important to make sure you have the right types of insurance that address your natural disaster concerns. For instance, if floods are an issue in your area, specifically add flood insurance to your policy. Educate yourself on personal items that are covered and not covered by different types of natural disaster coverage.
Ultimately, purchasing and understanding your home insurance is the best way to protect yourself against Mother Nature. If and when the worst does happen, you'll be glad you chose to be safe rather than sorry.
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