What are the best 3 ways to prevent damage from severe weather?

For some people, storms are an excuse to stay indoors and relax. But there are many times when storms can turn ugly, causing damage, outages and other devastating events. Storms are also a major cause of building destruction, which can cost families and businesses a fortune. Whether your community experiences snowstorms, floods, thunderstorms, tornadoes, or other natural disasters, it’s important to stay protected and know what to do in case of a storm emergency.

Each year, the National Weather Service in Wisconsin issues an average of 29 severe thunderstorm watches and 11 tornado watches throughout the state. And once the weather starts to warm up and winter turns to spring, rainfall and thunderstorms become more frequent.

Here are seven ways to shield your home from potential storm damage in advance – before Mother Nature wreaks havoc.

Tips to protect your home during a storm

1. Clear outdoor gear

As soon as you learn a storm is heading your way, quickly stow away all unsecured patio or lawn furniture, gardening tools, sporting equipment and other outdoor items. In addition to blowing away, forceful winds can cause objects to become airborne and not only damage property but also lead to serious injury of bystanders – even if they’re lightweight.

2. Remove large or loose tree branches

Some storms, especially those that involve powerful, high-speed winds, can cause tree branches to snap, resulting in damage to your home’s siding, smashing nearby cars and garages or even collapsing power lines.

At least monthly, carefully inspect your yard’s trees and saw off any branches that appear loose. If you have any old trees that are bent, crooked or have exposed roots from past storms or erosion, consider having them chopped down entirely by a professional service. Also inspect branches that are near power lines on your property. If they are in the way of potentially falling on a power line, contact the electrical company to trim them back.

3. Ensure your roof shingles are secure

Roofs are homes’ first line of defense against severe weather. They are extremely strong yet delicate structures. Especially during storm season, it’s important to make sure your roof’s shingles are securely in place. However, shingles can shift, become damaged or even blown off entirely during a storm. When this happens, the next best step is to replace the shingles when it is safe to do so – ideally, immediately after the storm blows over. To be on the safe side, hire a professional roofer to get the job done and identify areas of damage you may have missed.

4. Invest in standby power

A home backup generator can keep your power on, especially in instances of extreme weather. Fierce storms – or sometimes even moderate winds – can inhibit power sources to your home for anywhere between a few minutes to several days, depending on the severity.

Generators can help ensure the food in your fridge stays fresh, your HVAC units and fans run smoothly and that your essential electronics are able to function until power is fully restored in your area.

5. Floodproof your home

Heavy rainstorms can cause flooding, which can lead to all sorts of devastation and losses. Whether or not you live in a floodplain, make sure your home is covered with Rural Mutual’s Limited Water Endorsement if you qualify. This offering is specifically designed to protect homes, belongings and detached garages from the costs of water damage.

6. Inspect your sump pump

Before the highly anticipated spring showers are in full swing, check to make sure your sump pump is in proper working order. Having a battery backup sump pump installed is a key way to make sure your sump pump will continue to function and prevent drastic basement flooding if you lose power.

7. Have a storm safety plan in place

In case of a weather emergency, always have a safe location for your family to seek refuge, such as your basement, an interior room with no windows or a storm shelter. If your area is projected to be hit with violent weather that can potentially destroy buildings and homes – or worse – result in injuries or fatalities, consider evacuating the area entirely until you’re given the all-clear to return.

Keeping your family safe is a top priority for us at Rural Mutual. Having the right home insurance before storms hit can provide you with peace of mind and financial reassurance. To learn more ways to protect your home from storm damage, contact your local Rural Mutual agent.

February 23, 2022 - 9 minutes read

Image from Pixabay

In recent times, there has been a rise in the number of storm damage claims. Here are some timely updated tips on how you can reduce your risks

The peak storm season in Australia officially occurs from November to April. But that depends on where you live, and the reality is that storms can happen at any time of the year. In the southern states for example you are more likely to see thunderstorms during the winter months.

What causes thunderstorms?

The weather bureau says you need three ingredients for thunderstorms to occur: warm moist air at the surface, a mechanism that forces the warm air upwards (such as an approaching front), and atmospheric instability.

While the combination of all three results in thunderstorms, most are fortunately fairly short-lived due to the weakening effect of cool downward gusts that occur with rainfall.

For a severe thunderstorm to occur you need a fourth ingredient: wind shear. Wind shear separates the warm updraft and the cool downdraft from each other, and so there is a lack of a weakening effect. The result is storms that can last for many hours, with the potential to do a lot of damage!

The most dangerous type is the supercell thunderstorm – which can last 4-8 times longer than the regular variety.

As well as heavy rainfall and flash flooding, the fallout from thunderstorms can include large hailstones (2-10cm), damaging wind gusts (over 90kmh), landslides, lightning, and tornadoes.

Impact of storms and floods

Victoria’s State Emergency Service (VICSES) says they respond to around 20,000 calls for storm damage assistance each year. Much of the damage to buildings and cars according to VICSES is due to fallen tree branches, loose items turning into projectiles in strong winds (such as furniture and loose roof tiles), and flooding from blocked drains.

Storms and floods can result in property damage and losses as well as physical injuries and even deaths. These events can also lead to interruption to businesses and not-for-profits – sometimes putting organisations out of operation for many months!

Storm preparation

Preparing your property can reduce your risk of damage due to severe storms and the need for insurance claims.  However, this requires not only acting when wild weather is approaching but also throughout the year. The following checklists should help you with this.

Year-round maintenance

Property protection:

Keeping your property continuously maintained can greatly reduce the risk of damage due to storms when they occur. This includes:

• Annual roof inspections, and ongoing roof maintenance. How your building responds to severe storms and winds depends a lot on the state of its roof. Not only that, if you fail to maintain your roof it could possibly lead to a storm damage claim being denied.
• Grounds and garden maintenance. Includes regular pruning, removal of dead or hanging branches, and maintenance of large and old trees.
• Cleaning your gutters, downpipes, and drains to prevent them from becoming waterlogged or blocked.
• Identifying and repairing any weak areas in your building that could be vulnerable to storm damage.
• Installing a lightning rod and surge protection devices to protect against damage from lightning.

Business protection:

With storms and flooding having the potential to cause injuries and interruptions you also need to protect your operations.

Here are some top considerations:

• A storm and flood plan – this should cover safe evacuation procedures, shutting off utilities, emergency kits containing water and perishable food, First Aid procedures, emergency contacts (see links and contacts below).
• Business continuity plan – such as planning for employees and jobs, securing alternative temporary premises, contacting suppliers and customers, protection of data and vital records.
• Updated contents record – an up-to-date inventory of your contents helps you track missing or damaged items. This can also help to speed up any insurance claims for losses. See under ‘helpful links’ (below) for assistance with this.
• Drills and training – e.g. First Aid training and regular disaster scenario drills.
• Maintaining insurance cover – it’s important to keep your insurance up-to-date and to understand what events it covers you for and how to lodge a claim.

When storms are approaching

The weather bureau and state emergency apps will issue warnings when thunderstorms are approaching your region, so it’s important to keep up with weather and emergency reports and to heed any official advice.

When severe stormy weather is coming your way, you can prepare your property in the following ways:

• Move vehicles undercover. VICSES also recommends moving cars away from trees to avoid vehicle damage from fallen branches.
• Secure or remove items that could become missiles in strong winds, such as outdoor furniture, bins, and fallen branches.
• Prepare for outages by backing up all your data and charging up laptops, phones and rechargeable torches.
• Make sure to have your emergency kit stocked and ready just in case.
• Put sandbags in place if you are concerned about flooding.
• Decide what the ‘trigger’ will be to enact your flood and storm plan.

Post-storm measures and recovery

What you do after a major event also determines how well your organisation recovers from it. This includes:

• Checking your property for damage, water damage in particular.
• Cleaning up debris caused by the storm.
• Removing water from inside the building and drying out floor coverings (when safe to do so).
• Organising repair work for any damages.
• Enacting your continuity plan.
• Lodging insurance claims if necessary (see below).

Helpful links and contacts

Property maintenance:

Emergency and recovery planning:

Updating your content records:

Contacts:

• SES emergency help in storms and floods: 132 500
• Ambulance or police: 000
• Faith Insurance (for lodging claims): call us on 1300 032084, or follow the instructions on our claims web page
  (Note: if you are not insured with Faith Insurance read below to find out what we offer).

Insurance cover

Faith Insurance offers a comprehensive range of coverages that have been designed specifically to suit churches and not-for-profit organisations.

As well as property and liability insurance we provide cover for interruptions through our ‘consequential loss insurance’ policy. This insurance helps ensure you can cover revenue losses and meet your ongoing financial obligations during a disaster recovery period.

Our policies have been created with the needs of the community in mind which puts us in a unique position to understand your church or charity’s specific insurance needs. Contact our office by email or by calling 13 000 FAITH to find out more. 

Written by Tess Oliver