Staying Safe When The Weather Is Severe | SERVPRO of Oxford/Batesville/Clarksdale

4/15/2024 (Permalink)

SERVPRO of Oxford/Batesville/Clarksdale is Here to Help® restore your property to preloss condition after any storm.

While there are many benefits of living in the South, being in the path of tornadoes is not one of them. In the last few years, Mississippi has been leading the United States when it comes to the number of tornado touchdowns. 

Since we experience severe weather relatively often in the early spring and summer, it is vital that you have a reliable plan in place to keep you safe while the weather rages outside. Use the tips below to help you better prepare for the next stormy season. 

Planning Ahead

One of the most important things you can do during severe weather season is staying informed. This includes watching the news for the forecast, checking your weather apps periodically and making sure you have your weather alert systems up and running at any given time. If you know what is coming, you are much more likely to have the time you need to prepare and take shelter before it hits. 

Another crucial task is to make sure you have your emergency kit ready to use. Include flashlights with extra batteries, your weather radio, chargers for your phones, a first-aid kit, any medications or glasses, and shelf-stable food and water. Severe weather can last a while and be really unpredictable, so having means to stay comfortable while you are hunkered down is essential.

A tornado watch means that the conditions are right for a tornado to form and drop down from the sky, but a tornado warning means that there has been one reported on the ground in the area. If a warning is issued, it is imperative that you seek shelter immediately. 

After the Storm Passes

Tornadoes can have really specific damage patterns, so use extreme caution when leaving your safe shelter location. Entire homes can be flattened or sections of your house could have experienced structural damage that make your floors unsteady and walls unreliable. Walk carefully and slowly as you make your way outside to assess the damage. 

Your first goal should be to connect with anyone who wasn’t home when the storm hit and to check on your neighbors. Just because a house looks undamaged on the outside doesn’t mean there is no damage or emergency happening inside. Once everyone has been deemed safe, it’s time to get on the phone with us. 

One of the benefits about working with us is that we are locally owned and operated! We see the same forecasts you do and start preparing our homes and business just like you do, except we also start forming recovery teams and prepping trucks in preparation for your phone call after the storm passes on.

We will arrive quickly to assess the damage, and we will get to work right away to secure your home. We will board up windows, lay tarps over exposed sections of your home and start pulling undamaged possessions into another space for temporary safekeeping. 

After that, we will remove standing water, lingering moisture and damaged debris. Once your home is cleaned and dry, we can get started on your structural repairs. It is our goal to make sure your home is returned to its pre-storm damage condition as quickly and as efficiently as possible. 

Storms can cause serious damage to your property. Call SERVPRO of Oxford/Batesville/Clarksdale right away.