Hurricane Prep in North Carolina

Are you prepared for severe weather? If you have construction debris, yard waste, scrap metal, or any other items that could become airborne or hazardous during severe weather, you’re not ready. Let’s discuss hurricane prep in North Carolina so you can keep your family and your property safe.

The Office for Coastal Management estimates the total cost of extreme weather damages in the U.S. over the past 30 years is more than $2.155 trillion. Between 2005 and 2015 alone, the Federal Emergency Management Agency granted around $13 billion to households affected by severe storms.

Chances are if you’ve lived in North Carolina from the month of June through the month of November, those numbers don’t come as a surprise. Each hurricane season brings anxiety to residents of the Tar Heel state, and a reminder that the best defense often lies in proper preparation. Keep reading for hurricane prep tips. If you need dumpster rental or debris removal, contact Wall Waste Management in North Carolina.

Guide to Hurricane Prep in North Carolina

No matter how many storms we weather though, each one’s winds carry some unpredictable risk. While we can’t anticipate exactly what those winds will bring, there are some steps you can take before and after to try to mitigate damage and get it cleaned up quickly.

Come Up with Hurricane Prep Plan

The very first step of hurricane prep in North Carolina is simple: make a plan. An emergency plan should be drafted so that every member of the household knows what to do in both cases of evacuation and shelter-in-place orders.

The plan should include:

Responsibilities of each member of the household: Who will take care of family pets? Who is in charge of stocking up on items and groceries that may be needed for a storm? Who will be the out-of-area emergency contact?
Determine how you will stay in touch in the event of an emergency: This includes adding the contact information of every member of the family, along with social media and email accounts. You should also choose one or two go-to methods of communication that can be used to get a hold of each other. Text or phone call will likely be the first lines of communication, but it’s worth considering walkie-talkie apps like Zello which can be used without cell service.
Create a plan for pets: This plan should include both where pets will be safest if sheltering at home—such as in a bathroom with no windows—as well as where they will be able to stay if you do evacuate. Research hotels and shelters that are pet friendly, or recruit friends or family in other areas who may be willing to allow your pets to stay with them.
Know Your Exit Points: Mapping out all of the entry and exit points of your home, including all doors and windows, and keeping a list or diagram of these on hand can make sure they are top of mind in the event of an emergency. Pick a spot immediately outside your home where everyone can meet in the event of a sudden emergency.
Consider medical needs: If any members of your family take medication that needs to be refrigerated, consider how you might keep them cold even without power or in the event of evacuation. A cooler can be extremely useful in these cases.
Pick a meetup location: Along with a spot right outside of your home, you should also choose a meetup location in your neighborhood in the event of a sudden evacuation order. This way, every member of your family will know to meet there even if they are not together when the order arrives.
Pick an emergency contact: It’s a good idea to have an emergency contact that lives out of the area, as long-distance calls may be the only ones that go through when local lines are down. Knowing who to check in with allows you to alert at least one person of your safety, and others in your family can contact them to be sure they have heard from you.

Create a Hurricane Prep Kit

Once you have a plan in place, you’re ready to put together your hurricane prep kit. This kit should be stocked with all of the essentials that may come in handy in an emergency, including:

Battery- or solar-powered flashlights or lanterns
Batteries
A change of clothing
At least three-days worth of drinking water
Three-day supply of non-perishable food
A battery-powered radio for weather updates
A list of emergency contacts
Prescriptions and other essential medicines such as aspirin, ibuprofen, and neosporin
A first-aid kit
Important documents like copies of titles, bank information, passports, licenses, and others that you may need
Credit card or emergency cash

Secure Your Home

While you can take yourself out of harm’s way in the event of a severe storm or evacuation order, you can’t take your home with you. What you can do for your home is make sure it is as prepared as possible for the high winds and risks of a tropical storm or hurricane. This is a crucial part of hurricane prep.

Clean up your yard: Removing potential debris before a storm comes through reduces the chance of it being picked up by strong winds, or being knocked into other parts of your property and causing damage.
Secure door and windows: In addition to locking all doors and windows, consider storm shutters for more complete protection. You may also want to tape or board over doors and windows to prevent breakage from strong winds and flying debris.
Trim trees: Large trees and their limbs can cause serious damage to your home, car, and surrounding power lines. Trimming them can help mitigate that risk.
Structural reinforcement: Those who live in areas that see their fair share of storms, like North Carolina, may want to consider taking steps to reinforce their homes structurally. That includes roof reinforcement, retrofitting garage doors for wind resistance, and installing storm shutters and doors.
Have the right insurance: Making sure you have the right insurance policy to protect you from storm damage can get a little murky, so it’s a good idea to talk with your providers about what you are currently covered for and additional insurance for hurricanes. Many standard homeowners insurance policies will cover wind damage with a small deductible. If yours does not, you may have to purchase separate windstorm insurance.

If you need to rent a dumpster for debris removal as part of your hurricane prep, contact Wall Recycling. We provide reliable residential dumpster rental throughout North Carolina.

What to Do After a Hurricane

Even with the most thorough hurricane prep plan, you may still be faced with some damage after a storm blows through. In North Carolina, hurricane damage has been known to lead to costly repairs. In 2018, for instance, Hurricane Florence resulted in around $22 billion in restorations.

Hurricane Clean Up in North Carolina

If you are faced with clean-up in the wake of a severe storm or hurricane, there are a few things you’ll want to keep in mind to make the process go smoothly and to keep you and your family safe from start to finish.

Get the right safety gear: Stock up with goggles, waterproof boots, gloves, and NIOSH-approved half or full-face N95 respirator masks are a great start for your toolkit.
Open windows and doors: This allows air to flow through the house, and moisture to begin flowing out.
Clean out items that have been damaged beyond repair: Check with your municipality to see if they have instructed residents on where to place this debris. You can also rent a residential roll-off dumpster for storm clean up, which can be quickly delivered and removed when full. Wall Recycling’s North Carolina roll-off dumpsters can be used to dispose of anything from construction debris to old furniture and lumber.
Address flood damage: If there has been significant flooding or water damage, take photos of the damaged sheet rock and flooring before removing it. To be safe, it’s best to contact a professional flood clean-up team for the job.
Disinfect and clean: With the proper safety equipment on, disinfect and clean any surfaces affected by debris, or that may be potential spots for mold and mildew to grow.

Call Wall Recycling Waste Management in North Carolina

Looking for a roll-off dumpster rental in North Carolina for storm clean up or hurricane prep? For disposing of building materials, water-damaged furniture, and more, Wall Recycling has dumpsters ranging from ten to 40 yards in size. All of them can be dropped off at your convenience, and picked up when full, so you don’t have to worry about anything except for making your home feel like home again.

Contact us today to learn more about dumpster rental service in Raleigh, Goldsboro, Greensboro, Fayetteville, Wilmington, Asheboro, Apex, Durham, and more!