If you live in Raleigh, Lillington, and their neighboring areas in North Carolina, hurricane preparedness for homeowners can be a life-saving investment. The Atlantic hurricane season begins on June 1 and lasts 5 months, ending on November 30. Typically, peak storm season is in August and September. Having your family prepared in advance of a hurricane will give you peace of mind, and having your home prepared will help avoid costly repairs. We have a helpful hurricane preparedness guide for you to prepare your home and belongings in the event of a hurricane.
Hurricane Damage To Your Home
The major causes of hurricane storm damage are high winds and torrential rainfall that can result in flood damage. When high winds cause damage to the home (such as broken windows and doors, holes in your roof, or large tree branches landing on your home) your home then becomes even more vulnerable to water intrusion from the heavy rainfall. Fortunately, there are steps you can take to minimize the damage and protect your home from the worst of hurricane weather.
Preparing Your Home For Hurricane Weather
It’s a good idea to pay extra attention to these steps when a hurricane’s path is projected to travel through your area. Most hurricane path forecasts are accurate 2-3 days before landing in the projected area. So, you’ll want to keep a close eye on the forecasts, and have these steps complete well before the hurricane moves into your area.
Hurricane Preparedness Checklist
Here is our North Carolina Hurricane Preparedness Checklist:
- Empty your gutters so water can move quickly through them and away from your home.
- Trim tree branches that are overlong, breaking, dead, or near the windows or roof of your home.
- Make sure your roof is in good condition with no holes, leaks, or loose shingles.
- Bring inside your unsecured outdoor furniture, kids’ toys, and other items that could become projectiles during heavy winds.
- Use plywood that is at least ⅝-inch thick to board up your windows (if you live in a coastal area).
- If you live near a potential flood zone, consider using sandbags near entrances (such as doors, garage doors, sliding glass doors, etc) where water can creep in—or create a barrier around the entire perimeter of your home.
- Fill your car’s gas tank if there is a possibility that you might need to evacuate.
- Make a plan for evacuation and a plan in case family members are separated.
- Store valuables in waterproof containers.
- Review your insurance information. If you do not have digital copies of your home or renter’s insurance information, seal your paper copies in waterproof containers.
- If you don’t already have them, take pictures of your home and valued belongings. Keep them in a digital file online in case you need to recover loss.
- Turn your freezer and refrigerator onto their coldest setting to delay food loss if the power goes out.
- Consider investing in a portable generator! Generators are a great way to avoid food loss (by providing emergency power to your refrigerator) and help you keep a phone charged in the event of long power outages. Learn how to safely operate a generator to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning.
- Find the “safe zone” in your home.
- Bring your hurricane supplies to your “safe zone.”
- Charge all of your electronic devices.
- Fill your bathtub with water for flushing toilets or cleaning.
Prepare Your Hurricane Supply Kit
Prior to the start of North Carolina hurricane season, you want to check your hurricane supply kit. Make sure any food or drinkable items or batteries are not expired. Replace expired items and then make sure you have the items you need for at least 3 days without power or water.
Here is our suggested Hurricane Preparedness Kit:
- Non-perishable food
- Water
- Coolers, ice packs, disposable plates and utensils
- First-aid kit (including prescription medications for people and pets)
- Personal hygiene items and sanitation items
- Pet supplies and baby supplies
- Flashlights (have extra batteries on hand) and candles
- Battery operated radio (again, have extra batteries)
- Waterproof container with cash and important documents
- Manual can opener
- Lighter or matches
- Books, magazines, games for recreation
Assessing Your Home After The Hurricane
After the storm passes and it’s safe to assess your home and property in the daylight, here are some things to look for. Bring a camera or video recording device to collect pictures of damage for your insurance agent.
Look for visible damage to the roof and damaged or missing shingles, gutters, or downspouts.
Inspect your siding, doors, and windows for damage.
Look for visible cracks, water damage, or discoloration in your home’s foundation.
If any of your home appliances are wet or damaged. Do not turn them on. Contact a technician to come assess the appliance.
If flooded, your furnace, AC units, and water heater can become breeding grounds for bacteria and mold that present health risks. Call a qualified technician to assess whether your system is repairable or if it must be replaced. If you experienced flooding in any area of your home, you need to monitor for any potential mold growth. Mold is one of the leading dangers to your home after flooding.
Home Restoration Help After The Hurricane
Hopefully, your preparations will keep your home safe from the forces of a hurricane. However, in the case of a very severe hurricane that passes through Raleigh, Lillington, and nearby areas, you may need to call in your Local Restoration Professionals.
Unfortunately, there are people who attempt to take advantage of natural disasters, and scams are very common. Be wary of “contractors” going and door-to-door attempting to get homeowners to sign contracts on the spot for repairs and restoration. Here is a great resource for how to work with your insurance company to safely hire a contractor after an emergency to your home. Be sure to read through our Hurricane Damage Restoration FAQs.
We hope you won’t be needing restoration services this season, but if you do, our team of certified restoration technicians are here for you 24/7/365. Be safe!
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Hurricane Damage Restoration FAQ
PHC Restoration is in the business of being ready to respond 24/7/365, and we take extra precautions during hurricane season to ensure we are able to serve our community in the event we experience a catastrophe.
A major component of hurricane preparedness for PHC is coaching our team on how to handle the influx of calls that we receive during catastrophic weather events. It’s important for us to deliver outstanding service every day, and this is why we stay true to our area of expertise, especially when call volume is higher than usual.
In this FAQ we’ve outlined some guidelines we use to determine if and when we should respond to a call for damage after a catastrophe:
What’s the best way to reach PHC Restoration after a hurricane?
Call us 24/7 at 910-814-2502
How quickly will your team respond after a hurricane?
We do not respond until it’s safe for our crews to be on roads, ladders and roofs. After we determine it is safe, we then respond to properties in order of priority, as outlined in the next few questions.
What types of hurricane damage can you help me with?
- Water Damage
- Trees on (or through) roofs – tree removal, board up and tarping
- Water Intrusion
- Flooded basements
- Commercial properties with damage from flooded parking lots/streets
- Water coming in from the ground level
- Structural roof damage (i.e. roof lifted by wind, not blown back shingles)
- Sump pump failures
- Flooded crawl spaces – pump out and dry
After a hurricane, what types of calls do you respond to first?
Commercial, government and educational properties. Positively impacting our community is central to our mission, which is why these properties are top priority for us. The quicker we can restore them, the sooner they can continue to provide for the local people they serve each day.
What other factors determine priority?
- Safety – as bodies of water rise, roads can become impassable
- Previous customers – our past clients receive priority
- Severity of damage
- Location and service area
- Insurance coverage
Is there anything PHC Restoration cannot help me with?
- Minor roof leaks or shingle replacement
- Water stains on drywall ceiling due to roof leaks
- Exteriors-only damage (siding, roofing)
- Free estimates, especially if multiple quotes are being obtained
Do I have to obtain multiple estimates when I experience hurricane related property damage?
For insurance claims, policies do not dictate that you must obtain multiple estimates for property damage restoration. However, they do state that you have a duty to prevent further damage, and the more time you spend on attempting to obtain multiple estimates (especially during a catastrophe) the longer your property is susceptible to further damage.
Whether your restoration needs will be self-pay or paid for through an insurance claim, we understand that a ballpark number may be necessary. This is why PHC takes the time to determine the extent of damage during our initial inspection. We can provide a verbal scope and ballpark number so the property owner can decide how they would like to move forward. If a property owner wants a detailed written estimate before beginning work, we will have them sign a work service agreement first.
For more information on how to choose a qualified damage restoration contractor, please visit this page: https://phcrestoration.com/how-to-choose-a-contractor/
Which insurance companies do you work with?
We work with most insurance carriers. During high call volume, priority is given to policyholders insured with carriers we have worked with heavily in the past who provide a positive and timely experience for the policyholder and for PHC.
If you are insured with a carrier that we do not work with, we will always refer you to another contractor for help.
What if I have flood insurance?
We do not respond to property damage that is insured through the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), unless the customer is willing to pay 100% of the cost of our services and obtain reimbursement from NFIP after the work is completed.
What can you expect if you call PHC Restoration post hurricane?
- You’ll be placed on our response list if we are able to prioritize your damage. We may not be able to guarantee our response day or time, but you can expect us to keep you up to date on where you are on the list.
- If we cannot service your property, we will spend some time pointing you in the direction of someone who can
- We may ask you to text us a picture of the damage so we can get an idea of the resources needed to respond properly, or to advise you on other service providers who may be able to help you sooner.
- If your damage is not covered by insurance, we will prepare a quick quote for emergency services, give you a Do Not Exceed amount, obtain your signature on a Work Service Agreement and collect half of the payment up front. The remainder will be due at completion. Emergency mitigation services on average take 4-6 days to complete.
- If you do not have power restored and you have water damage, our first step will be an evaluation and we can extract standing water with a truck-mount extractor. For commercial properties, we are able to provide temporary power for an additional fee. Otherwise, we will return to the property once power is restored and available to support our drying equipment.
Finally, we want to remind you that disasters will cause much more damage than the local reputable restoration companies can respond to in a reasonable amount of time. It’s important to be patient and understand that a wait time should be expected. Please adjust your expectations accordingly.
Catastrophes will bring an influx of contractors to the area from out of state. And, in some cases, we will partner with trusted contractors from out of state that we have relationships with to increase our capacity. Before allowing someone to work on your property, do your homework. Our first responders can show you copies of our Unlimited North Carolina General Contractors License and proof of our General Liability and Workers Compensation coverage.
If you experience damage, we want you to have a positive experience. If you need guidance, give us a call. If we can’t help you, we’ll try to point you in the right direction.
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Reviews
Thank you to you and your wonderful staff of experts for helping me. My home had an active water leak and your team’s fast response, smarts, and professionalism fixed the problem with ease and great calmness. A harried situation felt much less stressful from start through billing. Your company will be warmly and eagerly referred. As well, I would like to say that on the last day of work, I again noticed your company’s tagline “Commitment to Compassion” on your work truck…your team, all of them, fully exude those words. They went above and beyond and I am very, truly grateful for their excellence and compassion.
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Storm Damage
It looks like we could have another stormy afternoon and evening in store for us tonight. We shouldn’t see as much rain as we saw last week as the first Tropical Storm of the season passed through the state, but strong winds and hail could be likely.
Although we can’t prevent storm damage to our homes caused directly by mother nature, there are a few simple steps we can all do to try to protect our homes from indirect damage.
