Storm Preparedness Guide: 10 Actions for Homeowners and Businesses Before a Severe Storm

Why Storm Preparedness Starts Before the Forecast Turns Red

Hurricanes cause major damage from storm surge, wind, rip currents, and flooding, and they can strike any U.S. coast or push far inland across multiple states, according to Ready.gov. Tornadoes, nor’easters, and flash floods share the same trait: they move faster than most people’s response plans. The gap between “watching” and “warning” can be as short as 12 hours. What you do in the weeks and days before that gap closes determines how much damage you absorb.

This guide runs two parallel checklists: 10 actions for residential property owners and 10 for facility managers, building owners, and institutional operators. Both lists draw from federal emergency agencies, public health authorities, and workplace safety regulators. Start wherever you are, finish before the season peaks.

10 Things Consumers Should Do Before a Severe Storm

These 10 steps are drawn from Ready.gov, the National Weather Service, the CDC, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, and emergency management guidance from state and federal sources. Each step is actionable before a storm is named or a watch is posted.

1. Know your evacuation zone and routes. Contact your local emergency management office or check your county’s official website to confirm whether your address falls in a designated hurricane evacuation zone. Identify at least two routes out and a confirmed destination, whether a family member’s home, a hotel, or a public shelter. The NWS recommends doing this before a storm is forecast, not the morning of.
2. Assemble or restock your emergency kit. A complete kit includes water, non-perishable food, blankets, clothing, flashlights, batteries, a battery-powered or hand-crank radio, cash, first-aid supplies, important documents, pet items, phone chargers, and any prescription medications your household needs, according to the CDC and Congressman Bill Foster’s disaster preparedness guidance. Check expiration dates annually.
3. Write a household emergency plan. Every person in your household, including children’s school contacts and workplace protocols, should know the plan: where to meet, how to communicate if cell service drops, and who is responsible for each task. Ready.gov recommends designating an out-of-state contact point that everyone can reach, since local lines often become congested after a storm.
4. Review your insurance policy and build a home inventory. The NAIC recommends listing every significant possession with its brand, purchase date, price, model, and serial number. Photograph or video every room, including closets and the garage. Store backup copies of this inventory offsite or share them with your insurance agent. Do this before a storm watch is posted, insurers need pre-loss documentation, not post-loss recollections.
5. Harden your home. Cover windows and doors with storm shutters or plywood. Clear gutters and drains of debris so water can drain off your roof and away from your foundation. Move outdoor furniture, grills, and planters inside. Rise to Resilience also recommends keeping nearby trees trimmed to reduce the chance of falling limbs breaching your roof or windows.
6. Set up multiple ways to receive alerts. Download the FEMA app, which delivers real-time NWS alerts for up to five locations simultaneously. Supplement it with a battery-powered NOAA weather radio in case of power loss. Monitor local TV and radio as a storm approaches, since conditions can change faster than apps update.
7. Prepare your vehicle and utilities. Fill your gas tank well before a storm watch is issued, when fuel lines are short. Move vehicles into a garage or to higher ground if flooding is a risk. Locate your utility shutoffs for gas, electric, and water, and be ready to use them. Fill clean containers with drinking water before the storm hits, since municipal water systems can lose pressure or become contaminated after flooding, per CDC guidance.
8. Plan for pets. Most public emergency shelters do not accept animals. Identify pet-friendly hotels, boarding facilities, or friends outside your evacuation zone before the storm is forecast. Include your pet’s food, medications, vaccination records, and a carrier in your emergency kit. Ready.gov and Congressman Foster’s guidance both flag this as a planning gap families routinely miss.
9. Know how to shelter in place safely. If evacuation isn’t possible, go to an interior room away from all windows. For high winds, a closet or bathroom with no exterior walls offers the most protection. If flooding threatens, move to higher floors. Use battery-powered flashlights, not candles: Rise to Resilience notes that candles create ignition risk if gas lines are compromised. Stay off roads until officials issue an all-clear.
10. Document storm damage before you touch anything. As soon as it is safe to re-enter, photograph every point of damage before moving or discarding anything. Contact your insurer immediately to begin the claims process. Follow the “Turn Around, Don’t Drown” rule from Ready.gov: floodwaters that appear passable are frequently not. A moving current of just six inches can knock a person off their feet.

10 Things Businesses and Facility Managers Should Do Before a Severe Storm

Commercial and institutional buildings carry a different risk profile than residential properties: larger roof surfaces, more complex mechanical systems, higher occupancy, and regulatory accountability for employee and public safety. OSHA, Ready.gov, the NWS, and the American Meteorological Society each provide specific guidance for the workplace context. These 10 steps meet that standard.

1. Write or update a formal emergency and continuity plan. Ready.gov is direct: businesses should maintain a written plan to continue operating when disaster strikes. That plan should name who is responsible for each function, identify the chain of communication, and detail evacuation routes for every occupied area of the facility. A plan that exists only in someone’s head fails the first time that person is unreachable.
2. Train all workers on the emergency plan. OSHA states plainly that employers must ensure every worker knows what to do in an emergency, not just supervisors and safety officers. That means floor-level staff, overnight crews, contractors, and seasonal workers all receive the same briefing. Training records should be current and accessible for inspection.
3. Run evacuation drills regularly. OSHA recommends practicing evacuation plans on a regular schedule and updating them based on what drills reveal. Facilities with complex floor plans, multiple access points, or workers with mobility needs require more frequent practice to surface bottlenecks before a real event does.
4. Designate and clearly mark shelter spaces. The American Meteorological Society recommends that every building in high-risk areas maintain a shelter, safe room, or wind-resistant interior space that is uncluttered and accessible to all occupants. Institutional facilities, including hospitals, schools, churches, and government buildings, must ensure public visitors can also reach designated shelter areas. Post clear signage. Test accessibility before storm season opens.
5. Harden the facility. Install hurricane shutters on windows and vulnerable openings. Bring outdoor equipment, signage, and roof-mounted fixtures inside or secure them with rated anchors. OSHA notes that high-risk operations, such as construction sites, industrial yards, and chemical storage areas, require additional pre-storm attention. Clear gutters, drains, and rooftop penetrations to prevent water backup.
6. Review and verify your insurance coverage. The NAIC recommends confirming that your policy covers the building structure, contents, and business interruption separately, and that the stated replacement values reflect current costs. Document all equipment and inventory with photographs, serial numbers, and purchase records. Store that documentation somewhere that survives the same event your building might not.
7. Back up critical documents and data. Insurance policies, HR records, vendor contracts, facility permits, and operational data should be copied and stored offsite or in cloud systems with redundant access. The NAIC recommends waterproof containers for physical documents. Designate someone to verify backup systems are current before storm season, not after a named storm is three days out.
8. Establish a multi-channel alert system. The FEMA app sends real-time NWS alerts to up to five saved locations. Pair it with an internal mass-notification system so staff receive warnings regardless of whether they’re at the facility, commuting, or working remotely. Rise to Resilience recommends ensuring that all staff, not just management, receive real-time warnings.
9. Coordinate with local emergency managers. Ready.gov and the NWS both emphasize compliance with local emergency management instructions, including mandatory evacuation orders. Know your facility’s evacuation zone. Establish a pre-season contact relationship with your local emergency management office so you’re not cold-calling them when a Category 3 is 36 hours offshore.
10. Build a post-storm damage assessment and response protocol. Decide in advance who has authority to declare a facility safe for re-entry, who documents structural damage, and who contacts the insurer. The NAIC recommends photographing all damage before cleanup begins. Critically, identify your emergency enclosure contractor before storm season, so you’re not searching for one while water is actively entering a compromised roof.

What Happens When the Storm Hits Anyway, Protecting What’s Left

Even a fully prepared property takes hits. High winds strip roofing assemblies from well-maintained buildings. Flying debris punches through shuttered windows. A structural breach that opens during the storm allows rain to enter for hours, compounding interior damage far beyond what the initial impact caused. Speed of enclosure after that breach is the single factor that separates manageable claims from total losses.

Storm Wrappers provides rapid emergency enclosure using professional shrink-wrap systems deployed in all 50 states. Unlike a blue tarp, which lifts in wind and collects standing water, shrink-wrap creates a leakproof, wind-resistant seal over damaged roofs, facades, and openings. The system is insurer-approved and carries a 6-month warranty. Getting a same-day quote costs nothing, and knowing your post-storm response partner in advance is itself a line item on any serious preparedness checklist.

Storm Preparedness at a Glance, Consumers vs. Businesses

The checklist below maps both audiences side by side. Use it as a quick audit against your current state of readiness.

Don’t Wait for the Warning to Act

Storm preparedness is not a one-day project. It is a sequence of decisions, most of which are best made well before a storm is in the forecast. Pick the item on whichever checklist you haven’t completed yet and start there. If storm damage has already reached your property, or if you want a response plan locked in before peak season, Storm Wrappers can provide a same-day quote for professional emergency enclosure anywhere in the country.