SUMTER COUNTY
Amateur Radio Emergency Services Association (ARES)

 Sumter County, Florida

Hurricanes: After the Storm
  • ARES Webpage
  • Home
  • Disaster Preparation
  • Fires-Structural
  • Hurricane
  • Power Outage
  • Severe Weather
  • Tornadoes
  • SKYWARN Spotter Program
  • Weather Reference
  • Weather Radio
  • County Phone Alerts

    		•

     

    When the winds and rain have stopped, you can then go outside or return to your home.  Check your property and house for any visible damage taking digital photos and notes of any damage observed. Be sure to do the same inside your home and any other structures that you may have.  Do you have any areas that need to be tarped before the next rain storm that your insurance adjustor should know about?  This is beyond a couple of missing shingles.

    There may or may not be a nighttime county curfew for the first few days afterward.  It depends on the amount of damage slowing the welfare checks and protecting damaged property.   Even then, access to damaged neighborhoods may be restricted to residents and their contractors protecting the property from further damage.

    Do you need to find alternate housing (family, friends, hotel, and lastly a county shelter) or stay in place?

    Review your insurance deductibles as compared to your rough estimate of damage.  Is it even worth calling your insurance claims adjustor?  If you think it is, call him and set up an appointment for his visit and have a flash drive of photos that you took available to give to him.  Be sure to keep a copy for yourself.  

    Be careful of who you hire for repairs.  Does he have Liability Insurance in case he gets hurt on the job and does he has a Florida contractor license?  Avoid paying more than 1/3 of the estimate up front and pay as the work progresses.

    Other considerations

    • A charcoal or propane grill should only be used outside (exhaust gas threat)

    • Food (Eat from Refrigerator - 1st, Freezer - 2nd, dry and canned - 3rd)

    • If a stop lights is not working, use the 4-way stop rule

    • Avoid driving/walking in water as there may be missing manhole covers, snakes, chemicals

    • When supplies get to a disaster area, there is usually a drive-through location set up, called an Points of Distribution (POD's) and will typically place food, water, and ice in you vehicle depending on the number in the family.

     

     Last Update:  06/23/2018    © Copyright Sumter County ARES. All Rights Reserved.