Safety Tips for Stormy Weather

08/11/15
Member News

As temperatures begins to cool for fall, we head into a new season for weather.  Here are some tips to help prepare you for various storm situations:


Lightning Safety Tips

  • Seek shelter inside a building with plumbing pipes and wiring, like your home or a store.
  • Avoid contact with conducting pathways, like plumbing, corded phones, televisions and electronic equipment. Appliances, when plugged in, can conduct electricity from the outside.
  • Use only a cordless telephone during an electrical storm and stand away from the phone charging base.
  • Avoid household chores, like doing the dishes, and delay showering until after a storm passes, as pipes are conduits for electricity and touching them can result in an electrical shock.
  • Stay indoors for 30 minutes after a storm passes, as lightning can strike miles from a storm’s center.


AAA Hail and Rain Damage Prevention Tips

  • Seek shelter during a hail storm and park your vehicle in a covered space.
  • If caught in a car with no shelter from a severe hailstorm, park and cover your face with clothing to protect yourself from flying glass.
  • Never attempt to drive through a flooded road, or drive around street barriers. A foot of water can float many vehicles.
  • Avoid ravines and dry creek beds during heavy rain. Flash floods can occur with little or no warning.
  • At home, keep rain gutters and spouts clear of debris to allow runoff to flow freely away from the house.
  • Repair and maintain your roof and consider installing hail-resistant roof tiles.
  • If you are inside during a hailstorm, close the window coverings and stay away from windows and skylights as hail and wind may shatter windows and blow glass inward.


What you should know about floods

  • Homeowners may be at risk of flooding, even if they don’t live in a designated flood zone.
  • Floods are the number one disaster in the United States and they occur in all 50 states.
  • Some floods develop slowly, while flash floods can develop in just a few minutes, even without visible signs of rain.
  • Federal law requires flood insurance for federally financed loans if you live in a high-risk flood zone, and lenders may require it for moderate risk zones.
  • The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) says just an inch of water can cause damage to your property, and flash floods can bring waves of water many feet high.
  • Flooding can also occur due to clogged drains or pipes, or new construction in or around your home that changes natural drainage pathways.
  • You can learn more about the flood risk to your home and community at www.fema.gov.


AAA Checklist for Tornado Preparedness

  • Keep emergency and first aid kits available, including a battery powered radio, extra batteries, food, and water.
  • Prepare a disaster communications plan with your family members.
  • Learn your children’s school disaster dismissal policy.
  • Identify a safe shelter area in your home, away from windows. Choose the interior part of a basement, or an inside room on the lowest floor like a closet, bathroom or center hallway.
  • Practice your shelter in a safe place plan with your family.
  • Know where your utility switches are located and how to turn off gas, water and electricity.