On average, households in the U.S. have approximately 300,000 items inside of them. Though many of those items are replaceable, there are certainly plenty that have tremendous sentimental value attached to them. If the Southern U.S. gets hit with the same destructive hurricanes this year that happened in 2017, homeowners will have to once again worry about losing their homes and all those valuable items inside them.
According to WFLA, several families in the Tampa Bay area are finally receiving much-needed home repairs several months after Hurricane Irma struck.
“Disaster recovery begins and ends at the local level,” said Jose Garcia, Executive Director of the Rebuilding Together Tampa Bay (RTTB). “Neighbor helping neighbor is what long-term disaster recovery is all about.”
The RTTB is working alongside Spectrum, Charter Communications Inc., and the entire City of Tampa to provide roof replacements and general repair assistance to pre-selected low-income homeowners that were severely damaged by Hurricane Irma.
“People need help, as we saw a need for people to be able to have an organization that they could turn to, to be able to come in and rehab houses, to help these people stay in their homes,” added RTTB President Cetus Clark.
One of the best ways to protect items inside of homes and the homes themselves is to have strong hurricane windows installed. Especially in Florida and other high-risk areas, hurricane windows are a must have. Window and door systems that have an impact-resistant glazing system of plus 105 and minus 130 can withstand hurricane force winds traveling faster than 100 mph.
The Herald-Tribune reports that the damages accounted for as a result of Hurricane Irma totaled approximately $8 billion across the state of Florida. These structural damages, however, are leading to some very serious and complicated financial and insurance issues.
More than 900,200 homeowners have filed claims for insured losses from Hurricane Irma, which struck the state five months ago. The state Office of Insurance Regulation showed that close to 90% of all the local claims have since been closed, but four in 10 were not paid.
“A primary reason for claims being closed without payment is that the damage was less than the hurricane deductible,” said Lynne McChristian, Insurance Information Institute spokesperson. “It is good to note that insurers do suggest that their policyholders report all damage because Florida has an annual hurricane deductible. If we were to experience another storm in the same season, damage from the first storm counts toward the deductible.”
If you’re a Florida homeowner and are worried about the upcoming hurricane season, in addition to having hurricane windows installed, you should educate yourself on how to properly board them in the event of a serious hurricane emergency.
Here are some of the supplies you will need to properly board your windows:
- Plywood
- Circular saw
- Large washers
- Corrosion-resistant recommended screws
- Measuring tape
- Drill and drill bits
- Barrel bolts
