Preparation Is The Key:  Surviving Storms
By Mark Sheppler

When a storm is coming, do not waste your time worrying.  Use
it wisely by preparing.  Preparing for a storm requires great
attention to detail and a logical system, so you must start as
soon as possible.  If local authorities order an evacuation of
the area, do so. If you are permitted to stay during a storm
there are still some precautions worth taking.   Here are some
tips to help you survive storms with the least financial risk
and physical injury.

Into the Shelter All of You

What you don’t want to lose, you should store properly.  This
is what garages and warehouses are for.  Keep your vehicles
inside your garage and keep them there especially a few hours
before the storm breaks.

Aside from your vehicles, store whatever you want to keep and
protect in your garage or a warehouse exactly built for storm
sheltering purposes.  Bring in your potted plants if you value
them.  Get the dog out of the dog house and into your house or
into the barn. 

Reinforce Your Home

There’s no sense in waiting out the storm in a home that could
not withstand one.  Your glass windows can easily shatter,
causing you and your family grievous injury for which you’re
unlikely to get help in a raging storm.  Your home may not be
sealed against gale-force winds.

You must protect your home, the most important shelter of all,
against storms.  Do this by installing shutters that can
withstand the impact of extremely strong winds.  There are storm
panels that can be put on before the storm and taken off after.
There are also permanently installed shutters which you can pull
in or out whenever a storm’s coming.  Moreover, there are
especially manufactured glass windows that can resist the winds’
and storm debris’ impacts.

You must arrange for extensive roof assessment.  You must
reinforce parts of your roof that needs reinforcing, plug up
holes where there are, or better yet, replace your roof with
storm resistant and durable roofing materials.  You must aim for
roofing that will stand firm against strong gusts of winds as
well as weather the impact of anything the storm brings down
crashing on it.

By the way, before the storm comes, unplug all of your
appliances to prevent electrocution if lightning hits your home.

If at all possible, put up some lightning rods.

When the Storm Hits and You’re Outdoors

As much as possible, you have to arrange to be in your
structurally reinforced homes whenever a storm is forecasted.
If this is not possible, however, you must do everything
necessary to get as much shelter as you can wherever you are.

Say you’re in the street when the storm suddenly hits, you must
go into the nearest building which can offer you some protection
against the wind and windblown hazardous rubble.  Choose a
building made of permanent building materials (e.g. concrete).
If you are nowhere near such a building, get inside your car,
close the car windows, avoid touching metal parts, and wait.  If
you get caught without a building or a car to hide in, go for
the shortest tree shelter you can find and avoid tall trees,
lamp posts and other tall infrastructure that are likely
lightning targets.

About the Author: Mark Sheppler is a handyman and home
improvement writer.   Always working with the right tools he is
rarely far away from a portable power generator.
http://www.best-standby-generators.com/

Source: http://www.isnare.com/

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