Ten Tips for Storm Safety During Bad Weather

While I sit here writing this, it is storming outside the window. There are big flashes of lightening, booming and rolling thunder, crackling, sizzling, and popping noises, and the sound of rain and water rushing from the rain gutters. My son is currently standing outside in the rain on the uncovered portion of the back porch, his arms in the air, his head back and mouth open, I'm assuming drinking the rain. My dog is soaking wet and is lapping at the water in the swimming pool. The exterior extension cord that runs the tube lighting to the screened porch is exposed to the elements.

It occurs to me at this moment how very unsafe all of these conditions currently are. Where I am currently, not so long ago, Hurricane Ike ravaged much of the area. Electricity was down, flooding was rampant, and winds and water and storm surge decimated much of the coastal area of Galveston, Bolivar, small cities around Houston, and Houston proper.

There are many storms smaller than Hurricane Ike that can be just as dangerous and damaging when residents don't take the necessary precautions. In fact, the majority of people who die in a storm don't die during the storm itself, but usually after or before the storm, when they think the risk is the lowest. Flooding, and other hazards, are often more damaging and dangerous than the storm itself.

Do you know how to keep yourself safe during a storm?

Storm Safety and Bad Weather Tip #1: Stay Inside

Lightning strikes, flash flooding, high winds that can knock a grown man down, flying debris that can hit you, and more all happen outdoors. It's important during bad weather to stay indoors and in a safe place away from exterior windows.

Storm Safety and Bad Weather Tip #2: Stay Away from Windows

As beautiful as a storm is, and as much as many of us might want to watch the electric show a raging storm can give us, storms have awesome power and destructive capability. Debris blowing, shingles knocked off roofs, tree branches, pebbles and rocks and even super harsh winds and water, can all break windows. If you're near a window with metal framework, though it's unlikely, it is not impossible for lightning to travel electricity along the frame, resulting in electrocution. Stay away from windows and safe in interior rooms with no exterior windows, and preferably no exterior walls if at all possible.

Storm Safety and Bad Weather Tip #3: Do Not Drive

I know I said earlier not to go outside, but if you were already outside, it's important not to drive. Flash flooding, particularly when you are driving in your car, can be dangerous. It's difficult to see how deep a puddle of water is, and it's not unusual for a car to stall in a dip that appeared shallow but wasn't. Worse yet, your car could get washed away, and you with it, and drowning is a very real possibility in these moments.

Storm Safety and Bad Weather Tip #4: Use only Minimal Electricity

When a storm is brewing, especially one with a lot of electrical activity or wind, it's important to keep your electronics UNPLUGGED. Not just turned off, but unplugged. If you have a computer, don't think that a UPS is going to ensure your computer's safety. You are still safer to unplug the UPS and the computer from the wall. You can keep the computer on the UPS, but the UPS must be unplugged.

You should also unplug the cable lines from your network cards and cable boxes, since many cable lines run up telephone poles in the alleys or sides of houses, and a strike to a pole can fry your equipment. Any equipment that can be fried (electronics like radios, televisions, computers, etc.) should be unplugged from electricity.

Storm Safety and Bad Weather Tip #5: Stay off the Phone

Telephones, particularly phones plugged directly into an outlet, use electricity that is separate from the electricity you have in your home. If you have a corded phone that is plugged into a jack, even if your electricity in your home is out, you will likely still have phone service if you have a traditional landline. This landline should be reserved for emergencies only. It is possible to be shocked through a phone line when it's plugged into a live phone jack.

Storm Safety and Bad Weather Tip #6: Have a Corded Phone AND Cell Phone

As mentioned earlier, corded phones will still work when the electricity goes out as long as the landlines are still working too. Cell phone towers can often lose signals when storms are brewing, and landlines can sometimes get broken or cut off when there are storms and bad weather. To keep safe in a storm, have both a cell phone and a corded phone to use in case of an emergency.

Storm Safety and Bad Weather Tip #7: Have Bottled Water

With flooding, lightning, electricity problems, etc, having fresh water that is safe to drink is one of the most important things you can have during bad weather or a storm. After Hurricane Ike, my friend who lived near Galveston went three or four days without any water pressure in the house, and then there was an order by the city to boil water for any use once the water came back up.

If you have a baby, people who are ill or immuno-compromised, or eldery people living in your home, fresh, clean water is absolutely essential, and it's not a bad thing to have around for the rest of the household either. We can live a long time without food, but we can't go long without water.

Storm Safety and Bad Weather Tip #8: Bring Pets Inside

If you're a dog owner, have a horse, or another big animal, you need to have a way to bring them inside or under shelter during a storm. Animals are your responsibility, and leaving them outside and unprotected during a storm is simply irresponsible. If you have a barn, a covered porch, a storage shed, a laundry room, or other type of room that's safe, you can put the animal in that area if you don't want them in your home, but you absolutely MUST provide shelter from the storm for your animal.

One of the saddest things I heard after Hurricane Ike was the people who came home to find their pets were lost, wandering the neighborhood. My friend found several stray dogs wandering around, hungry and wet and muddy. My pets are like family to me, so it makes me furious when people who these pets depend upon don't take the time to protect their furry companions.

This also will help prevent the spread of disease caused by animals eating decaying things blown about by the storm, or worse, from dead animals that animal control officers can't get to before people start getting out and about again after a storm.

Storm Safety and Bad Weather Tip #9: Outdoor Electricity

When a storm is brewing, be sure to bring things like outdoor electric cords and extension cords into some place dry and disconnect lights or other items plugged into these cords. This includes Christmas lights and decorations or other semi-permanent lighting outdoors.

Storm Safety and Bad Weather Tip #10: Remove Potential Debris

Things can get blown around in a storm, including lawn chairs, umbrellas, plastic chairs, BBQ equipment, lawn equipment, potted plants, and more. If you have things in your yard that can be blown around with a big enough gust, you should secure them indoors or in a sturdy storage.

Final Storm Safety and Bad Weather Tip:

I recently visited Bolivar Peninsula, off the top of the Galveston Bay area, and was dumbstruck by the devastation the storm had caused on this island. Salt deposits from the water still line the sides of the roads, debris is still piled in large piles in areas, stilts for houses still standing with no house on them. It was surreal seeing it all.

The saddest part for me was to hear the stories of people who didn't evacuate, even though it was a mandatory evacuation. Some survived. Some probably didn't. Here's the thing: all would have survived if they had evacuated when they should have and were told to. My advice: don't think this one won't be the big one. If they say leave, LEAVE.

If it ends up not being a big one, great, at least you were safe, but in the case it might be the big one, your life will be what is saved.