Spring and fall are storm season in Oklahoma. Here at Land Enterprises Roofing we help homeowners repair their homes after they experience storm damage. But we also like to educate homeowners on how to make sure their homes are prepared for that weather ahead of time!

Let’s take a look at how to prepare your property, your storm shelter, and your family.

Preparing your property

First, there are things you can do to reduce and sometimes even prevent storm damage altogether. Walk around the inside and outside of your home, checking for water stains, cracks, holes, and even missing materials like shingles or flashing on the roof. If you take care of small problems like that ahead of time, you can prevent having much larger problems later on.

Also check your yard for dead branches and debris in the yard itself then make sure it’s cleaned up. Look for trees with dead branches and remove those as well.

Preparing your storm shelter

Next, be sure your storm shelter is ready to go. One great habit to get into is cleaning your shelter on a monthly basis. Every six months, you should restock your shelter’s supplies. Be sure to store everything in airtight and watertight containers.

Speaking of watertight, be sure to check your shelter for drips and puddles after you have smaller rainstorms.

What supplies should you have in your storm shelter? Here are some important items:

• Water
• Canned food
• Flashlights
• Batteries
• Portable fans
• Comfortable seating (you could be down there for a while)
• Radio
• Personal hygiene products

Always be sure to check the expiration dates on all your supplies. And while water containers may say they can last several years, water stored in plastic containers should be replaced after six months.

Don’t forget to register your storm shelter with your county. If needed, you can call your fire department and ask them how to get it registered. And if you have enough room for other people to join you in your shelter, be sure to tell your neighbors.

If you don’t have a storm shelter, talk to your neighbors, your fire or police departments, or just search online for storm safety and procedures in your area.

Preparing your family

Finally, there’s the human element. In recent years, many schools have used this motto about storm preparedness: Be prepared, not scared. Since some children can get frightened by storms, that motto can be especially accurate.

Take your children through an action plan. Explain how being prepared means you don’t have to be scared. That’s a great way to educate them and put their minds at ease.

Don’t forget, if you experience an outage after a storm, be sure to contact your electric company. And if severe weather damages your roof, we would be happy to talk with you.