Follow these safety measures to protect your family and home during hurricane season
As hurricane season approaches, it is crucial to prioritize the safety of your family and protect your home. Calle Ocho News is committed to providing valuable advice and tips to help you prepare for potential storms. Florida Power & Light (FPL) prepares year-round for hurricane season and urges customers be prepared and be aware of potential electrical hazards at all times, especially before, during and after a severe weather event. The company shares expert insights on proactive preparation to mitigate risks. From developing emergency plans to securing your property, follow these guidelines to ensure the safety of your loved ones and property.
Before hurricane season: proactive preparedness
Take important steps to prepare for potential emergencies prior to any storm threat. First, you need to find out if your house or place of business is in a high-risk flood area or if you need to evacuate. Learn your escape routes and create a plan that you can go through with your loved ones in case of an emergency. Taking pictures or making a video of the inside and outside of your home is a good idea for insurance reasons.
If someone in your home is dependent on electric-powered, life-sustaining medical equipment, review your family emergency plan for backup power or make arrangements to relocate when a storm warning is issued. Clearing tree and shrub debris quickly is also important because garbage collection may be canceled under a hurricane watch. Never attempt to trim vegetation or vines growing near power lines or on poles. Only specially trained line-clearing professionals should work around power lines. Check your local listings to locate a contractor qualified to trim vegetation around power lines on your property.
Safeguarding against an oncoming storm
As the storm comes, be sure your home and loved ones are safe. Electrical equipment, such as pool pumps and filtration systems, should be turned off and unplugged, and protected from water damage by wrapping in waterproof fabric. Preserve perishables by setting your fridge and freezer to its coldest settings before a probable power loss.
Make sure you know where power lines are before you start working on a ladder. Always maintain a space of at least 10 feet between your ladder or scaffold and any above neighborhood power lines and always stay 30 feet away from all other power lines. Remember to switch off your TV, remove the cord, and stay away from power lines if you have an antenna or satellite dish.
Put your insurance plans, birth certificates, Social Security card, health cards and a copy of your FPL bill in a watertight container. Don't forget to save the FPL outage webpage and customer care number on your mobile device so you may report an outage and check on the status of restoration whenever you choose.
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