Severe Weather Guide: After the Storm

Stay safe, assistance others and record the damage.

Recovery

Don't render to severely damaged buildings until brash to do and then. There may exist structural damage that makes the edifice unsafe to enter.
Assist a neighbor who may require special aid: the elderly, people with disabilities and big families with young children.
Have photos of the damage for your records and save samples of spoiled floorings and furnishings to show to your insurance claims adjuster.

Rain and Wind

It'due south essential to work safely when cleaning upwards air current and pelting impairment. One report showed that 50% of tornado-related injuries happened afterward the storm.

Tetanus. If your last tetanus shot is more than ten years old, get an updated vaccination.
Drinking glass, fiberglass insulation and other particulates tin injure unprotected optics, lungs and hands. Habiliment eyewear, sturdy boots, a dust mask, long sleeves and pants, and leather gloves during clean-up efforts.
Soft items, such as upholstered furniture, mattresses, pillows, blankets, rug and draperies may contain dangerous slivers of glass. Audit carefully and consider professional cleaning or replacement of these items.
Food stored in cupboards may also exist embedded with glass splinters. Check flour, sugar, boxed mixes and cereal thoroughly. When in doubt, supercede it.

Flooding

The sooner the cleanup can brainstorm, the improve. The first 24 hours after the flood are vital for preventing mold from forming in h2o-damaged homes.
Floodwater in your dwelling may incorporate sewage, E. coli, salmonella and household chemicals. Wear rubber boots, safe gloves, and goggles.
Electrocution is a major cause of decease in inundation zones. Do not enter a flooded home where outlets and appliances have been submerged without verifying the ability is turned off, not merely knocked out and likely to come on unexpectedly.
Practice not attempt to make clean a wet basement with a vacuum that is not meant to handle water. Yous could be electrocuted.
Open every door, drawer, closet and window to maintain air circulation. If your air conditioner is working, set information technology on low to describe the humidity out of your house.
Exam for water trapped in walls by removing the baseboard and poking small holes in the drywall or plaster about two inches to a higher place the flooring.
Remove and discard all water-soaked, porous items such equally upholstered furniture, carpets, soft toys, drywall and insulation. Label this garbage every bit "contaminated."
After washing with water, disinfect the floors and flooded portions of the walls using a chlorine bleach solution (1/2 cup laundry bleach to ane gallon h2o) treating two feet above the overflowing line.
Have flood-affected appliances and heating and cooling units checked out and repaired by a qualified service technician before operating them.
Stay away from wet, damp or inundation-affected outlets, circuit breaker boxes and switches, and have them replaced past a licensed electrician, as needed.

Tools & Recovery Supplies

If you tin, the time to purchase tools and supplies for cleanup is earlier the storm hits.

Axe
Chain saw
Extra chain for concatenation saw
Gas and oil for chain saw
Crowbar
Prophylactic boots and gloves
Generator
Gas containers
Wet/dry vacuum
Heavy-duty cleaning supplies
Power washer
Large fan for drying items out
Jumbo trash bins and numberless
Bleach
Bottled water
Outdoor gas grill
6 16-foot 2x4s and large tarp for temporary roof repairs

Plus: 81 severe weather condition survival tips every homeowner must know.

Information for this post was made in collaboration with Lowes for a severe conditions guide.

Originally Published: October 11, 2017

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Source: https://www.familyhandyman.com/article/severe-weather-guide-after-the-storm/

Severe Weather Guide: After the Storm