5 Tips to Better Prepare for Flooding

Hurricane season isn’t over just yet—we still have until November 30th to see what storms may have an impact on the Bradenton/Sarasota area and beyond. One common occurrence with hurricanes is flooding, and that’s something that will become even more common over time due to climate change and coastal erosion. Is your home prepared for the flooding that could incur from a hurricane or even a tropical storm? Here are a few ways to better prepare:

 

  1. Listen to advice from local authorities. If authorities say you should evacuate before a storm due to an impending storm surge/flooding, then prepare to do so. Don’t return home until they say it’s safe. Although you and your home may be able to weather a storm—and even that is a maybe—there’s no promise you’ll be able to manage or even survive flooding. Remember that the danger from flooding can occur even days after a big storm—think of what happened with Hurricane Florence in the Carolinas.

 

  1. Get flood insurance. Flood insurance is not typically part of your homeowner’s insurance. Flood insurance isn’t always available during hurricane season, but you can ask your insurer about it other times of the year. Flood insurance can be a critical way to protect your home in the event of a flood disaster. Mortgage companies require people living in flood-risk areas to have flood insurance, but you also can buy the insurance if you don’t live in an area that is at risk. Although you may balk initially at paying extra money for flood insurance, compare that to the cost of losing your home or your valuables.

 

  1. Don’t drive through flooded water. You never know what’s in the water! “The depth of the water is not always obvious and the roadbed may be washed out under the water. Moving water has tremendous power. Six inches of moving water has the potential to knock you off your feet, and a foot of water can sweep a vehicle—even a large SUV—off of the road,” according to a Federal Emergency Management Agency publication. Animals (including alligators), rocks, mud, debris, oil, and even sewage could be found in flooded water.

 

  1. Move your valuables to higher ground. If you have to leave your home due to probable flooding, take important documents with you.

 

  1. Sign up to get emergency alerts. Emergency alerts in your area will inform you on weather conditions, evacuation notices, boil water advisories and more. Here is the link for Manatee County, and here is the link for Sarasota County for receiving emergency alerts. Local emergency services also usually have Facebook pages to keep you informed.

 

Call Secure Aging to Find Out How We Can Help Seniors With Financial Management

At Secure Aging in Bradenton, we transform the weight of the world into a sigh of relief for our senior clients and their concerned family members. The mission of Secure Aging is to protect and preserve our client’s independence and dignity through careful and thoughtful financial and care management. As our clients age, it is their desire to remain independent and age with dignity. Our services protect our clients from talented con artists looking to exploit and deplete the financial resources of our vulnerable seniors. Secure Aging helps families in Manatee County and Sarasota County and in and around the communities of Anna Maria, Bradenton, Bradenton Beach, Ellenton, Holmes Beach, Lakewood Ranch, Longboat Key, Myakka City, Palmetto, Parrish, and Sarasota. Call us at 941-761-9338, or visit us online at www.secureaging.com.

 

 

 

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