While you can't control when natural disasters happen, you can do your best to prepare your family and your home for the unthinkable. Making escape plans, building emergency kits, and having regular conversations with your family about how to turn off key utilities are some of the best things you can do to prepare for any type of natural disaster. It's also a good idea to know how to receive updates from authorities in your local area during emergencies.

Although this article covers practical steps you can take at home, it's important to mention that homeowners insurance is a key part of homeownership, as it relates to disaster preparedness. To learn more about how homeowners insurance can help protect you financially, check out our article about what home insurance covers.

Preparing Your Home for Earthquakes

Earthquakes can occur suddenly and without warning, but areas with a higher risk of earthquakes in the United States include the West Coast and the Mississippi River Valley. Like all natural disasters, the best thing you can do is prepare for a disaster before it happens. Talk to your family about what to do during an earthquake, and practice “Drop, Cover, and Hold On” drills with kids. Here are some ways to prepare your home for earthquakes:

• Hang decorations like art, picture frames, and mirrors with closed hooks
• Install latches on cabinets
• Store heavy items on lower shelves
• Secure heavy items, like bookshelves, to the wall with wall studs
• Secure appliances and technology with straps

Preparing Your Home for Floods

Flooding is a common natural disaster in the United States. While floods are typically caused by severe weather, they can also occur because dams overflow. Keeping up with your home maintenance, like cleaning your gutters of clogs and checking for damage, is a good start to making sure water flows away from your home. Elevating exterior utilities helps prevent damage and can make it easier to recover once flood waters recede.

Inside of your home, consider storing important documents inside a watertight container. Periodically inspect your home, especially ground and basement levels, for cracks, and ensure walls are properly sealed and in good condition.

Ready.gov advises that even six inches of water can knock you down. If you're at home when flood waters are rising, and you're no longer able to evacuate, remain on higher floors. You can research your neighborhood's flood risk via FEMA's flood map. If you live in a high-risk area, consider building and storing sandbags, which can redirect water flow and reduce water damage. When you have advance warning of a possible flood, place sandbags in a pyramid formation at entrances to your home up to the height of the expected flood level.

Preparing Your Home for Hurricanes

Hurricane season starts at the end of spring/beginning of summer and runs through the end of November. Even if you're farther inland than where hurricanes typically make landfall, hurricanes can still impact your neighborhood via heavy winds, storms, and tornadoes. Making an evacuation plan is the best way to prepare for a hurricane. Know where you would go if you had to evacuate and how you would travel there as a family (including your pets). Carve out a space in your home to store an emergency kit, which should include food, water, and medicine to last everyone in your family (including your pets) for at least three days. For more information on building a disaster supply kit, check out this list from Ready.gov.

Preparing your home for hurricane season can look a lot like preparing your home for a flood. However, hurricane preparedness should also include guarding against high winds. This includes trimming trees for dead or weak branches and securing loose objects from becoming dangerous projectiles. Doors, windows, and garages are often the most vulnerable parts of your home. Consider installing storm shutters and hurricane-proof doors, if you're financially able to do so.

Preparing Your Home for Tornados

Not all areas are at equal risk for tornadoes. The Midwest and Southeast regions of the United States are at the highest risk. A safe shelter area in your home when you're under a tornado warning should be on the lowest possible level and away from windows, doors, and outside walls. Familiarize yourself with your area's tornado warning system, and do drills with kids so they know where to go inside your home, in case of an emergency. Like other severe weather patterns that include high winds, secure furniture to walls and store heavy items on lower shelves. Keep your yard free of loose items and debris, and make a plan for bringing furniture inside, if it's safe to do so.

Preparing Your Home for Wildfires

Wildfires are unpredictable, and determining your neighborhood's risk can be difficult. The USDA Forest Service offers an interactive map that can help you understand your risk and how to reduce your community's risk of wildfires. Like all natural disasters, having a plan in place to evacuate quickly with an emergency kit is key to preparing for wildfires. If you are renovating or repairing your home, use fire-resistant materials to improve your home's ability to withstand a wildfire. Keeping your property clear of leaves and other flammable materials can minimize the impact of a wildfire. Trim trees and remove branches, especially those closest to your home that hang near your roof. All of these are basic steps to creating fire-resistant zones around your home.

Preparing Your Home for Winter Storms

Not all areas of the United States consistently experience winter weather, but even southern regions of the United States have been negatively impacted by winter storms. Maintaining an emergency supply kit if you're required to hunker down inside your home is one of the best methods of preparing for a winter storm. If you live in an area that consistently experiences winter weather, preparing your home for the cold and snow is a smart habit for every fall season. Generators are a great tool for staying warm if your power goes out, but be sure to follow the manufacturer's instructions carefully to avoid carbon monoxide poisoning and other dangerous hazards.

We understand that not all natural disasters affect all parts of the country and that there are many different types of natural disasters. For more detailed information on preparing for a specific disaster and determining your neighborhood's unique risks, please visit Ready.gov.