How to Minimize Household Hurricane Losses and Damages

The hurricane season comes to the northeast and gulf regions of the United States every year. Preparing for and cleaning up after hurricanes every year can be hard on a home owner financially, especially when a person's income is limited. So when living in a hurricane region, a person should take into consideration the household expenses they would have resulting from a storm. He or she should come up with ways to minimize these costs.

The best way to minimize house hold costs is to only have material possessions that are necessities and to keep them at a minimum.

Necessary Appliance

Appliance damaged by water is impossible to repair and always has to be replaced. To minimize appliance costs only have the necessary appliance needed for living, such as one refrigerator, one stove, one microwave, one dishwasher, one washing machine, and one dryer. These appliances should be average instead of the over size expensive models.

As for other appliances such as blenders, mixer, toaster ovens, and hair dryers, keep them at a minimum. Only have them if you need them, and have the models that are light and easy to pack.

Furniture

Have simple furniture that is light and easy to move. Refrain from collecting a lot of furniture. Only have the basics such as a sofa , a table, and a chair or two for the living room, a dinner table set the dinning room, and a bed and dresser in each of the bedrooms.

Futon furniture is the best to have in my opinion. It is light wood frame furniture which makes it easy to clean and carry.

Electronic

People like to collect household electronics. There is always something knew and interesting coming out on the market to buy. A person can easily accumulate a lot of electronics. So when it comes to electronics, only have the basics, such as a television, DVD, a computer and CD player.

Other Things

Avoid collecting a lot of clothes, decorative items, and toys. Avoid collecting stuff that you will not use regularly.

Remember. Only possess the necessities that can be easily packed and carried away in an evacuation.

Always have a special fund set aside to pay for the costs of a large U-haul and the fuel it needs. When an evacuation warning for a hurricane comes, immediately rent a u-haul to pack up and take away all household items.

Minimize Home Structure Damage Cost

Following is a list of ways to minimize home structure cost caused by hurricanes:

Flooring- Instead of carpet, use laminated wood flooring. Light floods resulting from a hurricane will permanently damage the carpet. Replacing carpet can be very costly, but laminated floors do not have to be replaced as long as flooding in not too severe, like a foot or more of water.

A Home With Curves- Strong hurricane winds can damage and destroy a home. According to Joseph Schlenk of Deltech Homes, an echo friendly home construction company (www.deltechomes.com) structures with a flat sides are at risk for serious damages and destruction. This is because the force from the strong hurricane winds blows flat against the walls or sides. The wind force is like a strong object slamming against the walls, eventually knocking them down.

However, Schlenk points out that when strong winds blow against round structures little or no damage results. The roundness of the structure "brakes" the wind as it blows, which allows the structure to withstand the strongest winds. So before building or remodeling one's home find out the direction from where the hurricane winds blow. Either make your entire home round or round the sides of the home facing the directions of the hurricane winds.

There is a lot a person can do to minimize to costs of hurricane damage. The main way to minimize damage costs is to live a simple non materialistic life. Also one should find out ways restructure his or her home to protect it from strong hurricane winds.