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Prepare Your Home or Business for Sudden Storms | SERVPRO® of Anniston, Gadsden and Marshall County
8/31/2022 (Permalink)
When you suffer storm-related damage to your home or business, make SERVPRO of Anniston, Gadsden and Marshall your first call.
We have all heard the saying “if you don’t like the weather, wait five minutes,” and we know it could not be more true for Alabama. Our winters can be freezing one day and mild the next, while our summers can go from bright and sunny to dark and stormy in a matter of minutes.
It can feel like a daunting task trying to prepare for such drastic changes, but there are things you can do to keep your home and your loved ones safe through a variety of weather. The first step in preparation should always be having a good information source for the extremes we could potentially see. While there are a myriad of great weather apps, choose a local station’s app like WBRC or Fox 10 so you can ensure localized coverage.
Once you know you have a solid way of receiving last-minute information, take the time to prep your home with a few safety measures you can practice and update year-round. Storms may come from out of nowhere, but that doesn’t mean you can’t be ready!
The start of each season is a great time to create or review an emergency weather plan with your family.
This should include locating an established safe space in your home and stocking safety supplies somewhere easily accessed from that space. You should also update your contact lists and make sure your whole family knows what the communication plan will be should a disaster strike.
Thunderstorms are quite common throughout the year, so take the time before one approaches to practice how to respond should it become severe. Walk even the youngest folks in your home through your plan so that there is little hesitation on how to get to safety. And throw some comfort items into your emergency supplies, so if a sudden storm does pop up you have a way to keep everyone calm while you ride it out.
One of the biggest threats that can be hard to predict when a quick storm is moving through is high wind or straight-line winds. Straight-line winds can do as much damage as a tornado when they reach peak speeds, so keeping your trees trimmed and outside furniture secured is always a smart way to protect your home.
Keep a close eye on your roof and make repairs as needed in order to avoid additional damage to this wind prone area of your home. If you are able, consider some permanent reinforcements for your doors and windows, too. Storm doors and shutters are a great investment for protecting your home, particularly when those bright sunny days turn suddenly dark and gray.
While it may not be your favorite weekend chore, cleaning the gutters means you’ll have better water drainage and less possibility of water intruding in your home. This is another great way to keep your home protected, particularly in the summer when storms that pop up suddenly almost always contain large amounts of rain that could overrun leaf filled gutters in just a matter of minutes.
Sudden storms don’t have to mean sudden damage. Take the time year-round to keep your home prepared and mitigate your overall risks.
If you do experience damage, make us your first call. We are available 24⁄7 to respond and get restoration moving quickly. We are also your neighbors, which means we know Alabama weather just as well as you!
When you know you are ready and you have restoration pros in your back pocket, you can watch the rain water the grass and rest easy knowing your home and loved ones will be safe.
Experienced storm damage in that last sudden storm? Call us and get back to life quickly.