How To Prepare Your Home for a Hurricane

An impending hurricane can interrupt your life for days or even weeks after impact, cutting off power and water supplies. If you live in a hurricane-prone area, the frequency of these storms will be higher, making it necessary to prepare for hurricane season. Prepare your home to brace for damage or a power outage with emergency supplies and backup power. In this way, you have everything you need to ride out the storm — or to evacuate safely.

Generator Mart offers a variety of backup power options so that you can get the right generators for hurricanes — whether you need occasional power or something that can keep your property powered for days. Let's find out how you can prepare your property for strong hurricanes and how a generator can benefit you.

Trim or Cut Trees

Conducting regular landscaping maintenance will ensure that your property doesn’t put your home or other adjacent dwellings at risk. Dying or overgrown trees can seriously damage property during a major storm.

Regularly inspect your property and hire help to trim weak branches and cut down dangerous trees. If you don’t take care of them, branches and trees can fall on your house, vehicle, or your neighbor’s property. This can make you responsible for thousands of dollars in damages.

Install Storm Shutters

If you live in a hurricane-prone area, the occasional plywood window cover can be a nuisance to take on and off. Invest in a set of storm shutters that you can conveniently open and close to protect your windows. What’s great about these is that they can be used during regular thunderstorms or to guard windows if you live on a golf course.

Seal Outside Wall Openings

Hurricanes bring a lot of water your way in a short time. Your home must be water-tight to maintain its structural integrity. Surprising places can let in water during an extreme storm, such as your garden hose bibs, outdoor electrical outlets, and holes where internet cables and pipes go through walls. Seal these areas with a urethane-based caulk so that water doesn’t enter your home. 

Upgrade Your Exterior 

Homes in a hurricane-prone area must be strong enough to withstand strong winds. Invest in hurricane-proof exterior doors that have at least three hinges. Dead bolts for all exterior doors should be at least an inch long. Sliding glass doors must be made of strong tempered glass and covered with plywood in the event of a storm. Garage doors should be approved for high wind pressure and impacts. 

Prepare For Personal Needs

Now that your house is ready for a big storm, you must ensure that you have enough supplies to get you through power outages and other interruptions. 

• Keep a list of emergency numbers in an accessible place like the kitchen countertop.
• Get a first aid kit with more than just bandaids.
• Prep your generator. Ensure that it’s well-maintained, topped off with fuel, and that you have extra fuel safely stored in an approved canister. Having enough backup power to ride you through a power outage can keep medical equipment operational and keep your home comfortable.
• Write down the address of emergency shelters. If the internet goes out, you may not be able to look them up.
• Have enough non-perishable food and water stored to last three days per person in your household. 
• Get all prescriptions refilled before the storm hits.
• Have a stockpile of emergency lighting and batteries to keep your house functional when the sun sets.
• Put all essential documents in a fireproof, waterproof container.
• Get a fire extinguisher. It sounds counterintuitive to need one during a hurricane, but water damage actually makes homes more prone to fire damage. 

For more information, check out ready.gov, which offers extra tips on keeping your tech working, where to find supplies, and how to evacuate safely.

Generators for Hurricane Season

Having a generator gives households and businesses great peace of mind during hurricane season. No matter what comes your way, you can be sure that a reliable generator will continue to provide power when you need it. 

To explore all your options, check out our list of generator brands or contact us today. You can also explore our convenient buyer’s guide, which explains all the types of generators we carry at Generator Mart.