How To Prepare Your Property For A Heavy Storm
While many places in Australia do not suffer from large storms due to their arid and mostly unchanging nature, the areas most inhabited by humans—the coast—is rife with many different strong storm systems every year. Flash floods, cyclones and regular big thunderstorms are all part of life on the Australian coast and have to be taken into account when you construct your house. Also, if you live in an already-finished house, there are steps you can do to protect your dwelling from damage and maximise your safety.
Stormwater Drainage
The most common form of dangerous weather in Australia would have to be the frequent storms on the coast. Australia's hot and humid climate coming into contact with cold southern and eastern systems can create massive and violent thunderstorms that discharge millions of tonnes of water on densely populated areas.
Due to this huge amount of water often unleashed in a short time you can get serious problems with flash flooding, even on your own property. Because of this, you need to have proper stormwater drainage for your entire property, not just your building. While having sturdy (and regularly cleaned) gutters and drainage off your roof is vital, many people will underestimate the amount of damage other areas of your property can take from thunderstorms.
The most important thing is to recognise where the nearest stormwater drain is in your street or area and try direct all stormwater to that drainage point. You should also be wary of all your paved areas outside and have drainage points for these, having water build up near your back or front door because of a paved driveway or porch is dangerous. You should definitely contact a professional construction contractor if you find that you have drainage problems in light rain because this will be massively amplified in a downpour.
Hail Protection
Hail is a surprisingly common phenomenon in Australia, and if you are new here, especially to the east coast, you can be totally unprepared when you experience your first hailstorm. While most houses are built strong enough to withstand hail, you should be mindful of what could happen in a hailstorm. The part of your property most in danger of hail is your car and you should definitely have a covering that you can put over it in the case of a hailstorm. Building a car shelter is also a good idea if you don't have a garage, but remember to NEVER park under trees when seeking shelter. Trees are more likely to send debris falling on you and cause more damage than any hailstorm can.
Secure Your House
A big cause of damage to houses in storms is accidentally left-open doors or windows. Go around your house in the event of a storm and make sure that every window is shut, that the doors are locked and that everything outside that could possibly threaten the sealed nature of your house, like a potted plant or gardening tools, is securely packed away or inside the house.
You should also check to see that there are no overhanging dead branches or loose furniture outside. If you have a pool, you should have waterproof pool furniture, in which case it is often easiest to just put the pool furniture in the pool so they don't get blown around.
The most important thing to remember is to prepare yourself for the worst case scenario in every storm event. It is better to be over-prepared and have done something for nothing than to have not done something and have it cause thousands of dollars worth in damages.
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