Tips for Protecting Your Home Against a Hurricane

Tips for Protecting Your Florida Home Against a Hurricane

Hurricanes are one of the most destructive phenomena on earth. We’ve all seen reports of entire communities ravaged by these storms, and some of us have had the misfortune of experiencing them first-hand. Although meteorologists and weather experts emphasize the importance of being prepared for hurricanes, needless damage and fatalities occur every year because their advice is not heeded. If you live in a hurricane-prone area, follow the valuable tips in our hurricane protection guide. In the event of a storm, it could save you thousands of dollars in damage and, more importantly, the lives of you and your family.

In this guide, we will go over:

• What is a Hurricane?
• Why Hurricanes are Dangerous
• Hurricane Safety Tips
• Tips for During the Hurricane
• Tips for After the Hurricane
• Protect your Garage Door

What Is a Hurricane? 

Hurricanes — also known as cyclones in the northern Indian Ocean and typhoons in the western Pacific — are massive, rotating tropical storms with wind speeds exceeding 74 miles per hour. They form in the Atlantic Ocean and eastern Pacific and often make landfall on the East Coast of the United States. In the Atlantic Ocean, an average of five to six hurricanes occur annually, most commonly from the middle of August to the end of October.

How They Form

Hurricanes start off as tropical disturbances, which are defined as organized storm activity at least 100 miles wide that last for at least 24 hours. For tropical disturbances to form, the surface of the ocean must be at least 80 degrees Fahrenheit. This warm water provides the energy to feed these storms. If a tropical disturbance reaches a sustained wind speed of at least 38 miles per hour, it becomes a tropical depression.

A tropical depression becomes a tropical storm if it attains a wind speed of at least 39 miles per hour, at which point it is also given a name by meteorologists. If its wind speeds reach 74 miles per hour, it is considered a hurricane and is assigned a rating of 1 to 5 based on its wind speeds.

This rating, known as the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale, indicates the damage the hurricane can cause. For instance, a Category 1 hurricane has the potential to damage roofs, knock over trees with shallow roots and cause power outages. The rarer and more destructive Category 5 hurricanes tend to completely destroy the walls and roofs of most framed houses and can cause an area to be unlivable for weeks or even months.

Why They’re So Dangerous

Hurricanes can wipe out coastal communities and cause a large number of deaths. Their destructiveness is due to several factors:

Hurricanes in Florida

An average of 1.75 hurricanes hit the East Coast of the U.S. every year, and Florida has been a victim more often than any other state. Since 1851, Florida has suffered 117 of these destructive storms — which is 40 percent of all the hurricanes that have made landfall in this country.

This statistic is not surprising to most. Florida juts out from the continent and is surrounded by warm waters where hurricanes thrive. But other factors make the state particularly vulnerable to these disasters.

For one, Florida is low lying. Miami-Dade County rises an average of just 6 feet above sea level, and Miami Beach is even lower. This means that few areas are safe from storm surge flooding, and rising sea levels are only making Florida more susceptible. The state has no mountains whatsoever, a geographic feature which causes hurricanes to rapidly dissipate.

The rock underneath South Florida also presents a problem. It’s made of porous limestone, which means that water can go from one place to another very easily, making sea barriers of little use in the state.

Hurricane protection in Florida is an important issue and Floridians must take extra measures to fortify their homes and stay safe.

Hurricane Safety Tips

To protect yourself and your home from a hurricane, you can do many things before the storm strikes:

1. Protect your windows

Covering your windows is one of the most important steps in preventing hurricane damage. A shattered window can lead to much more destruction, as it allows rain, wind and flying debris to enter the rest of your house. To reduce the likelihood of your windows breaking, board them up with storm shutters or plywood. Plywood is the more affordable of the two, and if installed correctly, it can resist high winds just as well as storm shutters.

Although some choose to tape their windows, this can actually be more hazardous because it provides the opportunity for larger and more dangerous pieces of glass to enter.

Another option is impact-resistant windows. These windows are similar to windshields in that they do not shatter completely but rather crack into spiderweb patterns.

2. Secure your garage and entry doors

Doors, along with windows, are the weakest areas of your home during a hurricane. Garage doors are particularly vulnerable for two reasons — they are built with relatively weak materials, and they are wide. Although they are built with light materials to save money and make them easier to raise and lower, this makes them easy for hurricanes to destroy.

One option to prevent garage door damage is to reinforce it with a garage door bracing kit. These kits cost several hundred dollars for double garage doors and include braces and hardware. You may be able to install it yourself if you have the right tools.

Another better option might be to install a new, hurricane-resistant door. This is actually required in some hurricane-prone areas like Palm Beach County, Broward County and Miami-Dade County in Florida, where codes require that door must withstand winds of 150 miles per hour. There are two types:

• Impact-resistant garage doors, which are made to withstand objects colliding with them.
• Hurricane-proof doors, which include a twist-resistant framework, reinforcing hurricane struts fastened to the inside surface of the door and a heavy gauge steel track system.

To secure entry doors to your house, here are a few steps you can take:

• Inspect your exterior door: Look closely at all the doors on the outside of your home to see if they’re missing any hinge screws. If your door isn’t screwed in properly, hurricane winds can buckle them.
• Install a one-inch deadbolt: This will help to make your door stronger — and it protects against burglaries, as well.
• Protect with plywood: Attach plywood over your doors with nails or screws. These boards should overlap the entire frame of the door by at least eight inches.

View Windcode-Rated Garage Door Styles

You can also replace your doors with impact-rated doors that are designed to protect against hurricane-force winds and flying debris.

3. Fasten loose objects outside

Objects outside your house that are not secured can become projectile and deadly when carried by hurricane-force winds and could damage your property. Make sure to pick up or tie down any object that could be carried by high winds. Picking up lawn furniture and trimming limbs — especially those hanging over your house or power lines — are good ideas. Even small structures like tool sheds and barns are at risk of blowing away, so make sure to secure them as well if at all possible. You should also inspect the roof of your home and make sure your galvanized sheeting is properly fastened.

4. Reduce the risk of flood damage

Flooding is a common natural disaster and can happen anywhere, but the chances of flood damage go up immensely during a hurricane, which is often accompanied by torrential rainfall and storm surge.

The most effective way to defend your home from flooding is by using sandbags. The bags should be piled up at least two feet high to effectively keep out the floodwaters.

As a hurricane approaches, people will often line up and wait for hours to get sandbags. If you cannot obtain sandbags on short notice, an effective alternative is heavy-duty garbage bags filled one-third with water and placed side by side.

Other good ideas include parking your car on high ground before flooding occurs and unplugging all household appliances to prevent potential electrocution if water were to come into your home.

Getting your home and car insured against flood damage will also help you out financially if flooding does occur.

5. Prepare electrical devices for power outages

The power voltage of your home can surge to hundreds or thousands of volts during a lightning strike. Although it lasts only a millisecond, it can seriously damage expensive kitchen appliances. While unplugging is an option that may work for some appliances, buying a surge protector may be a more practical option for items like your refrigerator — as unplugging it will likely cause your food to spoil.

6. Prepare your fridge and freezer

Your refrigerator and freezer should be turned to the coldest setting available and you should only open them when you need to. In a power outage, your food will last longer this way. Put a thermometer in the kitchen so you can know the temperature of the food when power is restored.

7. Make an inventory of your home 

When trying to recover your belongings after a storm, it helps to know exactly what items you had in your house. By simply taking photos of the contents in each room, you won’t have to rely on your memory.

Writing down the item number or serial number for large appliances or valuable items will also come in handy when filing claims with your insurer. Some insurance companies facilitate this process by offering free home inventory apps.

8. Make a disaster kit

Stockpile essential items before the storm, including three days’ worth of water and food, especially food that requires little preparation. You should also have flashlights, batteries, a first-aid kit, cell phones, back up chargers, garbage bags, a manual can opener, pliers and any necessary medications. Your valuable documents should also be protected in a waterproof container.

9. Inspect emergency cooking facilities

Ensure that emergency cooking facilities like coal stoves are working properly, as they may be necessary if the power and gas lines are severed. Make sure to have some kerosene and coal on hand. Coal can be kept dry by wrapping it in a plastic bag.

10. Have an evacuation plan

If your house is near the coast or in an area prone to flooding, you may be required to evacuate. You should familiarize yourself with your evacuation route and make arrangements to stay with friends or family who live in a safer place. If you have no one who can house you, staying in a shelter is another option. If you must go to a shelter, listen to the news for announcements of shelter openings.

Tips for During the Hurricane

When the hurricane strikes, stay indoors unless absolutely necessary. During strong winds, you risk being hit by flying objects, and children could be blown away. Some other hurricane safety tips include:

• Use flashlights, not candles: Candles can easily be knocked over during the storm.
• Stay in a secure room: If the house appears to be breaking up, seek refuge under a table or stand in a strong closet. 
• If away from home, stay put: If you are not at home when the hurricane hits, stay where you are. Many have been killed trying to get from one place to another. 
• Don’t drive through the floodwater: All it takes is 6 inches of rapidly moving water to knock you over, and just 2 feet can carry away your car. 
• Don’t touch the floodwater: It may be contaminated with sewage or other hazardous materials. 
• Avoid low areas: It’s a good idea to stay away from low areas that are subject to flooding, such as underpasses, dips and canyons.
• Stay inside during the eye: When the eye of the storm passes over your area, do not be tempted to go outside as the storm will return shortly.

Tips for After the Hurricane 

More deaths and injuries occur after the storm than during it. This is often because people are anxious to go outside to inspect the damage and may disregard important safety precautions. For this reason, it is best to remain in your home until an official “all clear” has been announced. Some other valuable tips include:

• Look out for debris: Hurricanes create a variety of hazardous debris including broken glass, fallen power lines and road signs. Be careful when sorting through the destruction to assess the damage. 
• Avoid electrocution: Stay away from fallen wires and puddles with electrical wires in or near them. Anything that comes in contact with a power line, including trees, should not be touched. If you see a downed power line or any other hazardous situation, report it to the police or utility companies immediately. 
• Handle power outages with caution: When residents and businesses lose power after a storm, they often rely on generators for electricity. Although power generators are useful, they can also start fires, damage your electrical equipment and cause injury or death. Before you use a generator, you should understand the risks involved and learn how to operate one safely.
• Limit phone calls to emergencies: During disasters, phone lines are often busy, so if you just want to communicate with family and friends, use text messaging or social media instead. 
• Confirm that safe drinking water has been restored: Before dumping your stored water, make sure the tap water has been restored and is safe to drink. If you run out of stored water in the meantime, boil your tap water.

Contact The Doorman for Wind and Impact-Rated Garage Door Installation or Repair

The Doorman of Southeast Florida would like to help you protect your home — and the loved ones who live inside — by securing one of your house’s weakest, most vulnerable areas — the garage door. We are authorized dealers of Clopay® garage doors, which are widely recognized as the leading garage door brand in the country. We also carry a complete line of Therma Tru and Plastpro entry doors.

If you live in Broward County or South Palm Beach County up through West Palm Beach, visit our showroom to find the perfect garage door or entry door for your home. We’re located at 940 Clint Moore Road in Boca Raton, Fla. and are open 8:00 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Friday and 9:00 a.m. on Saturday.

All our garage doors are both Wind and Impact Rated and feature attractive designs that will increase the curb appeal of your home. They’re even energy efficient, which will make cooling your home less expensive.

We offer a garage door tune-up for just $39.95, free estimates and quotes and a variety of deals and specials. You can reach us by phone at 561.600.9606 or via our online contact form.

Request A Windcode-Rated Garage Door Estimate

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