Hurricane season is underway. Now, before a storm hits, is the perfect time to get flood insurance, build an emergency kit, tackle home improvements or find someone who can. You can sign up for alerts – one of the easiest, and most important, ways to get ready – and plan how you’d evacuate to keep your family safe.
Whether you rent or own your home, here are six ways you can get ready for hurricanes today.
Build a kit
If a hurricane hits, you may need to survive on your own for several days. Build an emergency kit now so you’re ready.
To start, gather enough food, water, medicine and basic supplies to last your family several days without power. Consider everyone’s needs: you may want personal hygiene products, infant formula, pet supplies and toys or comfort items for kids.
Visit ready.gov/kit for checklists you can use to plan for your family’s needs.
Protect your belongings
Save digital backups of insurance policies, deeds, birth certificates and other important documents. Seal the originals in plastic bags, and store them upstairs or on a high shelf. If you evacuate, take them with you.
For larger items, take pictures of furniture, appliances and any valuables you wouldn’t bring with you if you evacuate. That way, if they get damaged, you can file an insurance claim and include the photos as evidence.
Get flood insurance
Most homeowners and renters insurance doesn’t cover floods: a particular problem during hurricanes. Just one inch of floodwater can cause thousands of dollars in damage – and hurricanes can bring rain and storm surge hundreds of miles from the coast.
Flood insurance can close that gap. Visit the National Flood Insurance Program's easy-to use portal to get a quote and explore insurance providers.
Now’s the time to look: most policies take 30 days to go into effect.
Clear hazards
Hurricane-force winds can turn anything unsecured into a projectile. Prepare your yard by picking up yard waste or natural debris, and trim or remove trees that could fall onto your house.
Rain, meanwhile, can pool to dangerous levels on your roof or pavement. Clean out your gutters to allow it to drain, and anchor fuel tanks so they don’t get picked up by floodwaters.
You can ask a professional for help with any of these – for help finding one, contact your local chamber of commerce.
Plan how you’d evacuate
If local officials tell you to evacuate, go.
Visit your town or county website to see if you live in an evacuation zone, learn your evacuation routes and check if your area has a designated shelter. Plan where you’ll stay and how you’ll get there – the website may list public transit options, or you can call to check.
Then, if you evacuate:
- Bring trash cans, bikes, patio furniture and anything else winds could pick up inside.
- Secure anything that would be unsafe to bring inside, like barbeques or gas canisters.
- Unplug radios, televisions and small appliances.
- Leave your refrigerator and freezer plugged in – for tips to keep your food safe, visit the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Food and Water Safety During Floods.
- If local officials say to do so, shut off water, gas and electricity (for help, call your utility provider).
- Lock doors and windows.
- Close hurricane shutters if you have them.
- Don’t tape your windows. Tape won’t protect glass from shattering – it’ll just make the shards larger and more dangerous.
Sign up for alerts
All your planning is wasted if you can’t hear what’s going on. Visit ready.gov/alerts to learn about different types of emergency alerts and how to get them.
“Preparing for a hurricane” is really a series of smaller, simpler steps. That makes it manageable – and achievable. Visit ready.gov/hurricanes for more ways you can get ready for the peak of hurricane season.