Home Safety

Not only does June mark the beginning of hurricane season, it is also home safety month. Use this time to make plans for reducing or avoiding injury, property damage, and disruptions to your life. That’s a tall order, but here’s how you can make it possible.

Step one: Make your house safer. It’s amazing how many things around the house have the potential to cause harm if they’re not stored or used properly. Visit My Safe Home for a room-by-room approach to home safety. It is an interactive site that uses digital animation to identify major risk areas and present the key safety factors and preparedness plans that are important for every safe home.

Step two: Make a plan. Among other things, the plan should include emergency contact numbers and a pre-determined meeting location if your home has been destroyed or is inaccessible. Include an out-of-state contact in case it’s easier to make a long distance call than a local call. A template for creating a family plan may be downloaded from Ready.gov. If you are responsible for caring for a family member with special needs, Things Caregivers Should Know in a Disaster provides some helpful tips.

 Step three: Inventory your home and organize your important papers. An inventory will be very useful if you have to submit claims to your insurance provider. This can feel like an overwhelming task, but you can make it easier by taking it room-by-room. In addition to a written record, video or photos of items in each room are useful. Record the serial numbers of electronics, date of purchase, and sales price. If you don’t want to do it yourself, consider hiring someone to do it for you.

No matter the threat—hurricane, tornado, fire, or flood—you can make your home a safer place. Checking it for hazards, making a family disaster plan, and keeping records of the items you own are three ways you do it!

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