Weather calamities are a regular occurrence no matter which part of the world you live in.
This is something we cannot avoid, neither can we judge the severity of them. What we can however do is try and mitigate the effects with a few steps either before or after they occur. In this case, we’re looking at the damages that come with a storm of any kind and what we can do to lessen the effects of it. Where your home has been affected by it, there are solutions for this too, so keep reading to find out more information about this.
Storms can be of any frequency, strength, and modality, some are just comprised of heavy rain showers, while others can be a combination of strong winds, hail storms, heavy rainfall, and snowfall or hailstones even.
According to online statistics and research both storm and tornadoes are the cause of majority of insurance claims and deaths in the united states, further information can be found online.
This is just one thing that your homes roof must deal with, the other types of weather conditions it faces throughout the year, is another thing.
Not to mention the culmination of everything up to the point of a storm, in any old house, may have weakened the structure and this can be the straw that breaks the camels back, as they say.
What to Do After A Storm Has Damaged Your Home
There can be a few things affected on your property after a storm or any weather catastrophe, some of these issues can include important elements such as your roof, sidings, walls, windows, doors, gardens to name a few.
So, if one such unpredictable circumstance has caused harm to your four walls, below are a few things to do and check once the clouds clear out and it is safe to inspect the entire place.
Assess Your Roof
It is of the utmost importance that once a storm has blown away and the sky is clear, you go outside and do a thorough inspection of your roof. This is to make sure no damage has been done, and in the case, there has been any, to check properly what exactly is broken or eroded.
Keeping your roof in tip-top shape should be your number one priority. After all, it’s what keeps anything from getting inside and ruining your interiors (expensive or not). There could easily be a leak somewhere that starts out small but ends up getting bigger if not dealt with immediately.
Check After Every Rainfall for Any Damage
Sometimes we may think that if it doesn’t rain too much there is nothing to worry about. This cannot be further from the truth. As mentioned above, it doesn’t need one rain job to cause failure but rather a string of different events, in this case, weather conditions and calamities, to cause any faults.
The good thing is this is the most noticeable of all disasters that happen to any surface, due to the obvious presence of water puddles, wet tiles, and leaks or dampening on walls both inside and outside of the house. This is a sign that has been some internal damage to the roof.
These types of things lead to further annoying effects such as rot, affecting the structural integrity of the building, mold, to name a few. If left alone and not taken care of it can lead to further hazards not just to the building but to the health of your family.
The Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has reported that exposure to contaminated buildings such as those with mold, can present prolonged health risks such as poisoning from mycotoxins https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mold_health_issues, and can also cause fungal infections and respiratory problems in people.
Check After Every Hail Storm For Any Damage
One may think that hail cannot spoil any part of any home because it is not as harsh as the other elements, but when big rocks hit your rooftops or building, the impact can affect things negatively. The holes that are created when hailstones hit any surface can be quite disastrous in the long run.
Sidings and shingles can easily get damaged with constant hitting and pressure, which weakens them and ultimately causes breakage. Albeit small, these things can go unnoticed and cause bigger repercussions further on. Hail damage is a very common occurrence and needs to be checked regularly.
Check your Shingles
When the combination of strong winds and rainfall hits your shingles, they can easily start to deteriorate or erode and crack altogether. Checking to see if there are any cracks or missing parts is a good idea because you do want to leave an opening for further damage to occur.
If you have trees nearby, there can be a big possibility of branches falling onto the tiles and breaking them or even getting clogged up into your gutters and causing an overflow. All this must be sorted before the next storm arrives and all it takes is calling the right help from the roofing & siding contractor to make sure they not only tend to it and get it fixed professionally but they can also treat it, to prevent any further breakages or eroding of any materials including fixing any visible cracks.
Sometimes if you don’t notice your shingles, check your gutters. You will be able to notice any clay debris left in them, this is a clear sign that they are starting to corrode and will become weak in the end, if not replaced soon enough. Another way to notice anything wrong is by checking your attic.
If you see any water seeping through, this needs to be inspected immediately and repaired. These rooms are highly vulnerable and nothing of importance should be stored in them.
Cautionary Steps to Take
In the above information, we have looked at how important it is to get your structure repaired if it was harmed during a storm, and what are the things to look out for. The emphasis is on sorting it out immediately and not waiting for the ‘storm to pass’, as they say.
Below are some cautionary tips on what to do in the event you are caught up in it and have called the professionals. So, while you wait for them to arrive, sometimes it could take hours or even days, these helpful steps can make your life slightly easier.
First and foremost, you need to make sure you do not touch any electrical equipment with your bare hands or while bare feet. Items such as telephone cables, or electrical equipment can be hazardous equipment waiting to electrocute you or your children.
It is also a good idea not to walk too close to any structures such as the walls, trees, high rises in case they have been weakened and may fall on top of you. Try and stay in open places and preferably outside while the building you wait for help to arrive.
For any temporary fix, grab some tarpaulin and cover the rooftop with it so that it blocks any further rain or water going through the tiles. This is however a very temporary fix and will need to be properly taken care of once the experts arrive.
Sometimes the ceiling will start bulging with the collection of water and this will need to be removed, which can easily be done using a broom or a mop to pierce it. Stagnant water is not a good idea in any home.
Most importantly, leave all your doors and windows open so the draft can start to dry things out. Ring out any rugs or clothes that are dap and do not touch your carpets yet, unless necessary. Leave them alone to dry out themselves. Unless you will replace them, which will be the job of the carpet company.
A good recommendation is to take lots of pictures of anything that has been damaged, this is for the insurance claims company. Sometimes they face a lot of fraud, any evidence you have that your property got damaged due to the storm will be a bonus on your part.
As mentioned above do not touch any electrical equipment, we would like to add do not use any electrical equipment such as a stove or fridge. If you need food try and ask the neighbors for help or go somewhere outside that’s away from the house, but refrain from using even small appliances such as the toaster, until the engineers have been there and checked that everything is safe to use again.
No one wants a damaged house no matter how big or small it is, any costs can drastically add up if not taken care of. It is very important to make sure that you are safe during the storm after it passes away and to future proof everything before the next one comes. These things can be unpredictable, but what is predictable is how good we look after our premises, this can mean the difference between costs and life.