Preparing for a Storm

Have a Family Plan
It's important to plan now to protect your families, business, and property. Discuss evacuation plans with your family, friends and relatives BEFORE hurricane season begins, and review your plans from time to time. Here are some planning tips:
Start putting an emergency supply kit together and double check to ensure supplies are fresh.
Make a checklist of what you must do before you leave and review it.
Make sure you and your family members know how to get in touch with each other. Remember that phone service could be disrupted, so have a back-up plan such as an assigned meeting place, use of pagers, e-mail or other technology that does not depend on phone lines. In case telephones and cell towers are not operational, you may want to make a list of contact information on paper that you normally store in electronic devices.
If you plan to stay in a hotel or motel, make reservations and confirm your reservations before you leave.
Learn evacuation routes from your area before storm season. Plan for delays and longer drive-times than normal.
Call 2-1-1 to find out if you live in an evacuation area or you need transportation during a disaster
Prepare Your Home
Steps you can take NOW
Here are some steps you can take to protect your property before a storm hits:
Find out the elevation of your property and check floodplain maps.
Check your insurance coverage. Most homeowner insurance policies do not cover flood damage. Learn about the National Flood Insurance Program.
Find out if your home meets current building code requirements for high winds. Structures that meet current high-wind provisions have a better chance of surviving violent windstorms.
Install commercial shutters or prepare 5/8 inch plywood panels for your windows.
Garage doors are frequently the first feature in a home to fail. Reinforce garage doors so that they are able to withstand high winds.
If you do not live in an evacuation zone or a mobile home, designate an interior room with no windows or external doors as a "safe room."
Assess your property to ensure that landscaping and trees do not become a wind hazard. Trim all dead wood, and weak branches or overhanging branches from all trees. Certain trees and bushes are vulnerable to high winds and any dead tree near a home is a hazard.
Consider landscaping materials other than gravel or rocks.

Click here for the 2009 Emergency Preparedness Guide from the City of Sugar Land