Natural disasters are often completely unpredictable. They can cause a substantial amount of damage to your property, which can be incredibly disruptive to your life. It is important to follow the steps to prepare your home for a natural disaster early on in order to reduce the amount of damage that they can do to your life. Here are a few tips for your home’s natural disaster checklist to keep your family safe, while simultaneously reducing the likelihood of damage to your property. This can go a long way toward minimizing the damage that a natural disaster can do to your home.
Be Familiar with your Area
It is important to be aware of the various natural disasters that are common in your area. You will likely want to follow different processes for preparing for an earthquake than a tornado. Learn what you should expect in your specific area in order to effectively prepare your home. This will also help you to create a more customized natural disaster checklist.
Know What to Expect during a Natural Disaster
When you are aware of what you may expect, you will be better equipped to help prepare for these outcomes. It is important to note that natural disasters can result in you being without electricity or other utilities for a long period of time. Because you may not have access to many of these things that you are used to, you should always keep a sufficient amount of clean, drinkable water inside of your home. Your water will be necessary for cooking, drinking, and staying clean. Having a generator can also help to ensure that you are able to obtain electricity to keep your refrigerator and other critical appliances running while your electrical service is disrupted.
During a natural disaster, it is likely that the distribution of food will be disrupted, which can make it hard for a grocery store to stay supplied. When you keep a supply of food inside of your home, you can help to keep your loved ones safe and healthy in the event of a natural disaster. Though this depends specifically on the type and severity of the natural disaster, it is common for various infrastructure services to be unavailable. Hospital services, trash collection, public transportation, and other services may be unavailable for a period of time following the natural disaster. Due to this, it is crucial to keep a first-aid kit in your home.
People’s Reactions to a Natural Disaster
One of the most unexpected consequences following a natural disaster includes the way that other people will react to the natural disaster. When people are frightened or extremely scared, they may be unpredictable. This can even cause them to be dangerous. Because of this, you will want to ensure that you are prepared for looting, violence, and crime that can potentially occur. When you are aware of this, you can take the steps to keep you and your loved ones safe throughout the natural disaster.
Natural Disaster Checklist for your Home
It is crucial to ensure that you prepare your family for a natural disaster. However, a natural disaster checklist is also an important aspect for preparing your home. This helps to ensure that your building can be efficiently prepared in case a natural disaster arises. Know where all of the various emergency shutoffs are located in your home, so that you can mitigate damage to your property when a natural disaster occurs. It is also important to ensure that you have a specific “safe zone” for your property. This space should be located away from windows, which can help to minimize injuries in this space. You should take the steps to structurally fortify this space of your home. When you have this space, you will be able to protect your family from sustaining injuries during your natural disaster.
Part of your natural disaster checklist should be keeping your emergency gear in a place where you can easily access it. When you store your emergency first-aid kit in the very back of your storage room, it will be difficult to access it when it becomes necessary. You should ensure that you are able to easily reach your flashlights, emergency radios, candles, and various other emergency supplies.
Have an Evacuation Plan in Place
Ensure that your family is aware of your evacuation plan. This can help to keep all of your loved ones safe when a natural disaster occurs. You should have this plan created prior to a natural disaster. Practicing the evacuation plan can also help to ensure that everyone is on the same page when an actual natural disaster happens. Ensure that your family will have a method for emergency communication in the event that you become separated. It is also important to list a specific meeting place and determine the best escape routes from your property.
Obtain a Generator for Emergencies
There are many issues with your home that can occur when you lose electricity. For example, when you lose your electricity, the food in your fridge and freezer will likely spoil. This is often the last thing that you need during a natural disaster. This generator can also help to ensure that you can charge your essential tools, such as emergency radios, flashlights, and cellphones.
Keep an Emergency Kit in your Home
The emergency kit can go a long way toward keeping you and your loved ones safe during a natural disaster. It is often the best idea to create an emergency kit with a supply that will last for 2 weeks, because you may be uncertain regarding the outcome of the natural disaster. Water, medications, and food are important to keep in your emergency kit. When you are creating your kit, you should ensure that you choose foods that are high in calories and provide easy preparation. This is because you may not have access to electricity. Ensure that you have approximately 1 gallon of water for each person for each day of the emergency kit use. For homes with pets, you will want to ensure that you include pet supplies in the kit.
Extra cash is another important part of an emergency kit. This is because card payments may also be down with the electricity. Keep several different objects in your emergency kit, such as flashlights, candles, and an emergency radio. Keep extra batteries and blankets in the kit to ensure that you can still use your emergency supplies. It will also be important to pack hygiene items, like extra clothing, soap, and toothbrushes. This can go a long way toward protecting your health when a natural disaster arises.
Contact Us
Following your natural disaster checklist can help to keep your home in good condition after a natural disaster has occurred. This can minimize damage to your property, as well as disruption to your life. To learn more about a natural disaster checklist for your home, contact us at Premier Utah Real Estate today!
