Floridians know all about Hurricane season.
But if you are new to Florida, are unsure of what to do, or just need a refresher on how to prepare for hurricane season, allow us to help.
Coastal homes in Florida know just how dangerous hurricanes can be to their home. Category 5 hurricanes have 157 or higher winds and usually brings flying cars, uprooted debris, and massive storm surges. In other words, complete devastation to coastal homes in the path of any hurricane. It doesn’t have to be a Category 5 to cause this much destruction.
Floridians know all too well the importance of securing your home before hurricane season.
Let’s revisit the worst of them…
Florida has taken 4 direct hits from a Category 5 hurricane according to wikipedia. While not many hurricanes get up that high these 4 did some major demolition.
- Inez – came in 1966 – destroyed most of Florida
- Andrew – came in 1992 – Andrew was so bad, it caused a major shift in standards in the window industry.
- Matthew – demolished parts of Florida in 2016
- Irma – followed in Matthew’s path the very next year 2017
Hurricane windows can protect you from life threatening situations. This quote is a story from one of our customers in Indian Rocks Beach:
Irma hit our family personally. I just found out I was pregnant, and the storm hit our home hard. The destruction was devastating. The winds flew a huge tree limb into our front bay window, which was non-impact and shattered immediately into my home, slicing through my upper arm. My husband and his father were able to board up the house while my mother-in-law tried to stop my bleeding. It was a complete nightmare.
Prepare for every hurricane, not just category 5s.
Who could forget the year of the Category 4’s that rolled through Central Florida. In 2004-2005 we had Category 4, with winds of 130–156 mph, which is nothing to scoff at. These hurricanes can impact homes worse than their older brother the Cat 5. Hurricanes Charley and Frances in 2004 and Dennis in 2005 were completely devastating to many coastal homes.
Moral of the story: Be Prepared for Hurricane Season!
What can you do when they call for a hurricane watch to get prepared for the upcoming storm?
Make sure you have plenty of drinking water to last a few days of non-potable water. Fill your bathtub with water. Make sure you have an emergency radio, flashlights, candles, lighters/matches, first aid kit and all your medicine for a few weeks. You never know how extensive the damage can get. Get a few bags of your clothes and necessities in case you have to evacuate your home.
Food!
Make sure you have lots of canned goods and a can opener. Non-perishable items are best because you may be out of electricity and anything in your fridge will go bad. If you have pets, be sure they have all their food and medication as well. Prepare for hurricane season with worst case scenarios in mind.
Be prepared before the season ever starts!
You must board up or put the shutters down over non-impact windows. However, you can always avoid this replacing your old aluminum windows with hurricane impact windows. Hurricane rated impact windows are the main deterrent from hurricane force winds and flying debris. There are triple panes of glass, in which two panes are put together with a laminated interlayer that keeps the dual pain intact. Hurricane windows are a requirement now for Central Florida coastal homes. After hurricane Andrew came through, Florida changed their building codes to require more safety.
Having hurricane impact windows during a hurricane can be the difference between life and death. The envelope of your home can fold in on itself or explode outward when a strong wind comes through a broken window. Impact windows will stay completely intact and within its frame after repeated strikes of a large object. Take a look at this video and see what the difference is and how it can affect your home.
Call today to prepare your home by next hurricane season.
