Storms come. The key is to be prepared for them when they arrive.
The National Weather Service recommends taking the following precautions to prepare for storms:
#1 Stay Informed
If you don’t know what weather is coming (or here already), how can you prepare for it? Knowledge is the first step. Staying informed on current and expected weather conditions in your area will help you prepare.
Check the forecast on a regular basis. Your local news channels provide localized, focused reporting for this very purpose.
#2 Communicate.
Make sure that each person living in your home knows the plan in case of a weather emergency. Have a meeting and develop a plan that all residents in your home know about and are prepared to follow.
For example, your plan should include details such as the determined shelter location like a basement or inner room that is low to the ground with little to no windows.
#3 Practice makes perfect.
Remember when you used to have fire drills in elementary school? Well, there was a purpose for those drills. You and your family should have an emergency weather storm drill.
Practicing your family’s emergency plan will minimize points of confusion and in case a storm does arrive, you and your family will feel more confident knowing that you have already been through the motions so you will know exactly what to do.
#4 Minimize risks around your home.
Perhaps abundant or overgrown trees and branches around the outside of your home does not bother your aesthetic vision. However, for safety reasons, clearing away these hazards can minimize risk of damage to your home during a weather storm.
Shrubbery is not the only item that should be kept in check. Maintaining the clutter, cleanliness, and little damages around your home creates order. This general order can help minimize damage to your home during a storm.
#5 Consider medical needs.
The National Weather Service recommends anyone who is able to have CPR training. You will also want to consider the specific medical needs of your family.
For example, make sure that you and your loved ones store extra supplies of any necessary medication inside the predetermined emergency shelter space in your home.
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