What To Do When Wicked Weather Wallops Your Town

Turn on the news on any given day and you’re likely to see coverage of wild weather whipping the country. From raging wildfires out west, tornados tearing through Tornado Alley to hurricanes along our coasts, it doesn’t only seem like extreme weather events are on the rise – they are. How can we prepare for the worst weather ahead for 2019?

Did you know?

• in 2018, there were 14 separate billion-dollar weather and climate disaster events across the United States, with a total cost of $91 billion. These included devastating hurricanes, like Florence and Michael, baseball-sized hail storms, and California’s costliest, deadliest and largest wildfires in history.
• so far this year (as of April 2019), there have already been extreme weather and natural disaster events with losses exceeding $1 billion each across the United States. These events included flooding in the Midwest, severe storms across the U.S., and destructive tornadoes. Alabama, for example, has already endured an above average number of tornadoes in the state.
• June 1st brings the start of Hurricane Season in the Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean. Colorado State University is predicting at least five hurricanes with two potentially as major storms – Category Three or higher.

“Just looking at last year we had 14 separate billion dollar disasters ranging from hurricanes to tornadoes, hail storms, so extreme weather has been on the rise for a couple of reasons,” said national television meteorologist and author Bonnie Schneider. “One, we have climate change with the earth getting warmer. What that means is as the air temperature and the sea temperature are warmer we have more moisture in the air that helps to ignite storms in terms of making them more intense, perhaps more long lasting and dangerous. Another factor is where we live. So many people are moving to the coast line because it’s beautiful but when your in a heavily populated coastal area you may find your more vulnerable to extreme weather. Expect to see more of all types of extreme weather. We are starting hurricane season and Colorado State University one of the many places that puts together a forecast for the season has just slightly raised their projection from below average to now an average season. While hurricane season is quite now things can pick up and that is an example of it time to be prepared. Across the country this is the time of year when we have severe thunder storms and preparing for those even just a regular everyday thunderstorm can do damage and can be life threatening. “

A national survey of more than 1,000 Americans found that despite the increased frequency of natural disasters, 75 percent of people do not proactively prepare for impending severe weather. Esurance commissioned the survey to better understand if people felt prepared for a natural disaster and their ability to quickly recover.

The survey results revealed two surprising outcomes. First, that people tend to take a low-investment path when it comes to weather preparation — despite the potential for expensive and dangerous outcomes. Second, even with the rising interest in smart-home technology, most aren't aware of home technologies for disaster preparation.

• For most people, preparation constitutes only the basics: 76 percent have staples such as food, water, and first-aid kits.
• Nearly half surveyed are not aware of home technologies such as smart smoke alarms or water sensors that can alert homeowners of a flood or fire via cell phone.
• Only a quarter of respondents have invested in products like generators, hurricane shutters, wet-dry vacuums, or storm panels.

Of those surveyed, 80 percent expressed concern about the increasing pace of these events. But only 25 percent proactively prepare for potentially damaging weather. Only 17 percent consider themselves well prepared if a natural disaster were to occur with little warning, and fewer (only 13 percent) could explain their community's disaster plan.

Even when it comes to personal devices that people generally have on hand at all times, less than half of people surveyed have something as simple as a cell phone backup. And less than a quarter have severe weather apps installed.

Be Prepared Bonnie's Tips Include:

• Get together your basic disaster supplies which include things like a three-day supply of non-perishable food, three-day supply of water, photocopies of your credit cards and ID, and batteries.
• In case of loss of power, be sure that your electronics are fully charged as technology can provide key information during a disaster.
• Create a family disaster plan for everyone living inside your home, including how to evacuate people and pets.
• Be sure to check that you’re properly covered (and understand your insurance coverage) well before a disaster hits, otherwise it will be too late.
• Bundle home and auto insurance.
• Think out of the box – or out of the sky! Hail is becoming a bigger and bigger issue and it’s important to protect your property (and yourself), and make sure you have the right coverage if there is damage.

“I highly recommend that people look into their insurance now before a storm hits,” said Schneider. “One of the tools the Esurance provides for example is the coverage counselor. It’s a tool online, you just answer some questions and it will guide you to what you need depending on where you live and your situation. If you wait for example a hurricane watch is issued for your area that is not the time to check your insurance because you might not be able to get what you need because there could be a freeze on any changes at that point because of an imminent storm.”

The study also found that while 80 percent of respondents would feel more confident about getting through the next big storm if their communities implemented high-tech tools, almost no one (only 3 percent of respondents) plans to invest in personal technology in the near future.

Below are four personal technology tips to help with natural disaster preparation:

• Invest in smart home sensors and alert devices, which can alert you to impending damage from fire, water, and other hazards.
• Angle security systems and Wi-Fi-enabled cameras toward the street to keep tabs on activity around your home. This could help you see dangerous conditions like live wires or even downed trees, allowing you to check on your surroundings before heading outdoors. In case of evacuation, you can also monitor damage to your home and know when it's safe to return.
• Find an app that enables Wi-Fi calling and make sure you know how to use it. Cell phone towers often go down in the event of a disaster, but Wi-Fi through cable is relatively reliable.
• Digitalize your records for insurance purposes. Every year, update your home inventory to make sure new purchases and home improvements are included, which may speed up recovery efforts.

For more information visit Esurance.com/disasterprep

ABOUT BONNIE SCHNEIDER:

Bonnie Schneider is a national television meteorologist and author of the book Extreme Weather, published by Macmillan. Bonnie is the Co-Executive Producer and On-Camera Extreme Weather Expert of the DIY Network TV special, “Last House Standing.” Bonnie connects with her fans and answers their weather questions through Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and her website, BonnieWeather.com. Previously, Bonnie worked as an On-Camera Meteorologist for The Weather Channel. She also covered Hurricane Sandy as a Special Correspondent for Bloomberg TV providing analysis on weather’s economic impacts. Prior to that, she was at CNN Worldwide, regularly appearing on CNN, HLN and CNN International. Bonnie held weather and reporting positions at various local TV stations across the country. Bonnie has been awarded the American Meteorological Society's Seal of Approval for achieving the highest standard of excellence in both technical weather knowledge and communication skills. Bonnie has been featured on CNN, Inside Edition, Fox News, Bloomberg, Mashable, Red Eye Radio, and many other media outlets.

Courtesy: Esurance