From Katrina to Gustav: Weathering the Hurricane Season

Just a week after Florida residents were coping from heavy flooding from Hurricane Fay and a few days after residents in New Orleans gathered for the three-year anniversary of Katrina, Hurricane Gustav wreaked its own modest level of destruction. Whether or not you've experienced personal tragedy or property loss in the past few years, knowing how to handle damage to your home and doing what can be done to prevent property damage is much more than a listless piece of home maintenance. It's homeland security, here and now, for you, your loved ones, and your most cherished belongings.

The New Debate: Global Warming and Hurricane Trends
Nature Geoscience published a study that used hurricane-prediction simulators and claims that the increase in Atlantic-based hurricanes are due to an increase in temperature relative to other tropical basins, not any larger trend in global warming itself. On the other hand, professionals at MIT, Georgia Tech's School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, and the National Center for Atmospheric Research have linked warmer ocean temperatures to a rise in the number and strength of hurricanes in recent decades. The one loose consensus between all these studies is that, while the frequency of hurricanes may continue to fluctuate, the severity of hurricanes is likely to increase.

One thing is for certain: Katrina brought home to many folks the undeniable fact that, during any given year, your home can be under siege from a natural disaster that threatens to destroy it. You don't have to live next to a levee, nor does a category 5 hurricane have to directly hit your area code for your home to be destroyed.

The Anatomy of a Disaster
Homeowners preparing for a storm can't really build stronger levees or restore barrier islands and marsh lands that protect neighborhoods from storm surges and flood waters that few homes can survive. Many more homes are destroyed by a more conventional hurricane-produced force. Hurricanes produce enormous amounts of atmospheric pressure that create a disparity inside and outside a home. If a hurricane is then able to knock out a door or window, this pressure rushes through your home, creating a swift uplift that comes to bear on the underside of your roof. The combined force of the roof's weight and the fastening system that ties it to the rest of your home are all that keep your home from total collapse.

Preventing Roof Damage and Total Property Loss
The weakest point of your home during a hurricane is a combination of the windows and roof rafter. The connection between the roof rafter and the walls of your home is almost always the place that fails, quickly leading to a completely destroyed home. Recently built homes should have mandated storm clips that create stronger ties between roof rafters and residential walls, significantly reducing this vulnerability. The limited space associated with these roof rafters make retrofitting a problem, although Thomas Thompson of Hurricane Clips has developed a hurricane storm clip specifically designed for this purpose. Thus, the best way to protect your home from a hurricane is a combination of installing some type of storm shutters for your windows and hurricane storm clips for your roof.

Home and Roof Inspections
Talking about hurricanes and home protection, Gordon Atwell, owner of A+ Precision Inspection in Denham Springs, LA, has seen it all. He recommends having your home/roof inspected "before or toward the beginning of hurricane season." Even if there isn't a major hurricane, it's almost guaranteed that your roof will see an enormous amount of heavy rain. Roof coverings, penetrations, flashings, and rafters should all be inspected, along with the caulking, sealant, and general integrity of your home's windows and doors. After a storm has passed, you should conduct your own inspection. Gordon adds that "the homeowner themselves can do a check to see if there are any signs inside the home or on visible areas of the roof."

Keep in mind, too, that while roofs grab all the headlines and attention, as they should, they're far from the only areas that are susceptible to damage. Gordon estimates, for example, that "in about 50 percent of cases where there's roof damage, there is also some type of siding damage."

Handling Roof Damage after the Storm
After seeing to the immediate safety of loved ones and cherished possessions, your first priority should be to make a call to your insurance company and temporarily secure your roof and home. This doesn't need to be anything fancy. Gordon recommends using a tarp to cover any holes, cracks, etc. in your roof. Of course, this may be a tougher task than many homeowners can complete, depending on their mobility and the design and complexity of the roof. If you can't find a friend or family member to help you out, Gordon says, "There are non-profit organizations out there—churches, the Red Cross, who can help you." Indeed, it's a good idea to make a list of these organizations in your area, before you actually need them.

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