Preparing Your Texas Home for Hurricane Season

This guide covers general preparation only: checking shut-offs, clearing drains and gutters, and knowing your insurance in general terms. It discusses the Gulf Coast hurricane season in general terms, with no per-place storm or flood-risk claim. For the service that deals with a loss once it has happened, the water damage restoration page sets out what is offered in general terms.

General preparation before the season

General preparation before the hurricane season starts with the house itself. Check the roof from the ground for missing or damaged tiles or shingles, and for flashing that has lifted around a chimney or a vent. Check the windows and doors for gaps in the seals, and check that the doors close properly. Look at the trees near the house, and consider whether any branches overhang the roof, because a branch that falls in a storm can open a roof to the rain. These are checks to do in the weeks before the season, not when a storm is already on its way.

Preparation also means knowing the house: where the water shut-off is, where the power shut-off is, and how to use both from a dry place. It means keeping a record of the house as it is, with photos of each room, so that any damage can be shown clearly afterwards. And it means having a plan for the household, including where to go if the house needs to be left, and what to take. A plan made in advance is worth more than a plan made in a hurry.

Know your insurance in general terms

Knowing your insurance in general terms means knowing what your policy covers and what it does not, before a storm arrives. In general terms, a standard homeowners policy often covers sudden water losses inside the house, such as a burst pipe, but it does not always cover flood damage, which is water coming in from outside, and flood cover is often separate, through the NFIP or a private insurer. That is a general point, not a statement about any particular policy, and no claim is made here about NFIP eligibility, flood-zone status, or coverage for any property.

A homeowner who wants to know what their own cover includes should ask their insurer, and should ask in writing, so that the answer is on the record. The questions worth asking are whether flood losses are covered, what the excess is, what documentation the insurer needs, and how soon a loss should be reported. Those questions should be asked before the season, not after a loss, because the answers shape what to do when the water comes.

After the storm has passed

After a storm has passed, the first steps are the same as after any water loss, and they are worth taking in order. Stay out of flooded rooms, and do not handle electrics in or near standing water. If water is near electrics, stay out and call for help, and shut off water or power only if it is safe to do so from a dry place, never by wading in to do it. If the water is floodwater, treat it as Category 3 black water: avoid all contact with it, keep children and pets away from it, and call a professional, because floodwater may carry sewage, chemicals and debris, and it is not safe water to touch or to clean up without protection. Do not enter a building that is flooded, and do not try to rescue belongings from standing water.

Once the water is being dealt with, the record becomes important. Take photos of the affected rooms before anything is moved, note when the loss was discovered and where the water came from, and keep damaged materials until the adjuster advises otherwise. Those steps do not deal with the water, but they deal with the record, and the record is what the restoration and any insurance claim are built on. The repair that follows is planned from what the inspection finds, with the drying confirmed by moisture readings before any repair starts, and the cause of the water, whether a roof, a window, or water coming in from outside, needs to be found and fixed, because a repair built on a cause that has not been fixed will be wet again the next time it storms. No promise is made that preparation stops damage, and no claim is made about any particular storm, but the steps after a storm are the same in every case, and they are worth taking in order. Hurricane season is a time when preparation matters, but it is also a time when the limits of preparation should be understood. A house can be prepared as well as it can be, with the roof checked, the gutters cleared, the shut-offs known, and the insurance understood, and still suffer damage when a storm brings water in, because a hurricane can overwhelm defences that have been maintained properly. That does not make preparation pointless: it reduces the chance of a loss, and it makes the loss that does happen easier to deal with, because the household knows what to do, the record is already kept, and the call can be made promptly. After the storm, the steps are the same as after any water loss, and they are worth taking in order, because the order is what keeps people safe and what gives the restoration its best chance of holding.

Key Takeaways

• General preparation before the hurricane season starts with the house itself.
• Shut-offs, drains and gutters are the practical heart of hurricane preparation.
• Knowing your insurance in general terms means knowing what your policy covers and what it does not, before a storm arrives.
• Preparation cannot promise that a home will not be damaged.
• After a storm has passed, the first steps are the same as after any water loss, and they are worth taking in order.

More Water Damage Guides

Water Damage Guides

Water Damage Prevention for Texas Rental Properties

Read the guide →

Water Damage Guides

Water Damage Restoration for Texas Property Managers

Read the guide →

Water Damage Guides

Seasonal Water Damage Risks in Texas

Read the guide →