Unless you live in a place which has a program for fast
relief, think of Katrina, how two years later people are
still waiting.
If you are insured be prepared not to get the value of your
damage. Insurance companies thrive on collecting premiums
and not paying them out.
Again, to use Katrina, it was decided that people suffered
flood damage, not hurricane, hence were not covered.
Many people who have survived hurricanes have adopted a self-
insurance policy; that is to pay their premiums into an
interest bearing account every month like clockwork.
If you collect from your insurance company and are going to
rebuild, consider if you need to rebuild here, or should
move to a different location.
If your location is "safe" but your house wasn't, your new
house will be done in a different manner.
Firstly, where do storms come from?
Do they come from the East? West? South? Check past
hurricane tracks.
Where I live, hurricanes come from the East and travel to
the west, north west.
This means, the East side of your building should be
the most secure, and act as a buffer.
Putting your garage along the East side, meaning that the
house has an extra wall is the safest. A west exposure
is the wisest.
A concrete roof is often the strongest, and make sure if
you are using blocks that there is an iron rod in every
one of them.
Many houses are not properly built. Look at those which
stood up, and see why your's did not.
After a hurricane driving around is a bad idea. You will
likely get flat tires because of the debris in the road.
Wear water boots, and walk and look and see what is
happening, and where you can help.
Often helping takes your mind off your personal damage.
Organise work or clean up crews to deal with your community.
During the period of darkness, of stress, of everything being
a hassle, take time to talk to people. Not a litany of loss
which will make you feel bad, but uplifting things that make
you feel good, humorous incidents that make you laugh.
Put no pressure on your family. Make no big decisions, save
if it's time to leave the area.
Base this decision on how close you are to a river or the
ocean, or if you have suffered due to a land slippage, on
the cost of repairs, or if you are in apartment, the rent
vs the time it is taking for the building to be repaired.
A mobile home is lovely, but it always will suffer from
hurricane damage. It might be time to move to a place
which doesn't experience hurricanes.
If it is just that you feel disgusted at your loss, stay
put, let some time pass, and see if you feel the same way
once everything is back to normal.
Live during the daylight until electricity returns, then
be careful when you start to replug. Sometimes there is
damage, which could lead to a fire.
You should have shut off everything, so when power returns,
go to your fuse box, and put on each switch in turn, making
sure everything is alright.
When water returns, and you shower, think of all those
who live without electricity and running water, and give
thanks.
