This week we Kay Plumbing will be sharing how to prepare your family and protect your home. The following is from the International Code Council, for week three of National Building Safety Month.
Prepare Your Family
Making sure your family is prepared for any natural disaster is important. Below are some of the steps you can take to prepare your family and protect your home from natural disasters. Your actions can ensure that no matter what Mother Nature brings, you, your family and your community will be resilient.
Tips To Plan
Here are a few tips to follow from the Federal Alliance for Safe Homes – (FLASH®) when preparing your family for any emergency.
- Develop a family disaster plan that includes a list of food and water supplies needed for each member of your family and supplies for your pets. Make copies of important documents like insurance policies, the deed to your home, and other personal papers, important phone numbers and a home inventory. Create a checklist of important things to do before, during and after a disaster.
- Review your evacuation route and emergency shelter locations with your family. Options for evacuation would include staying with friends and relatives, seeking commercial lodging or staying in a mass care facility operated by disaster relief groups in conjunction with local authorities.
- Taking shelter is critical in times of disaster. Sheltering in place is appropriate when conditions require that you seek protection in your home, place of employment or other location where you are when disaster strikes.
- Consider incorporating a safe room in building plans and improvements.
- Review your plan regularly. If you make changes that affect the information in your disaster plan, update it immediately.
Visit America’s PrepareAthon! to learn more about how to prepare for earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, wildfires and winter storms. Get Involved to help prepare your family and community.
Protect Your Home
The power of natural disasters can be overwhelming. While you can’t necessarily stop them from happening, there are steps you can take to increase your home’s chance of survival, even in the face of the worst that Mother Nature can dish out. Flood insurance can be the difference between recovering and being financially devastated. Just one inch of water in a home can cost more than $25,000 in damages. The average flood insurance claims payment to homeowners was about $90,000 from the Baton Rouge floods in 2016 and $65,000 for Superstorm Sandy that struck the Northeast in 2012. FEMA’s Individual Assistance Program can provide financial assistance for home repairs, rental assistance, and other needs, but the average payouts are much smaller, on the order of $6,000 to $8,000 per household — why risk it? Resources: Disaster Prep Brochure
