This post goes up on September 10, which on the long-term averages is the peak of the Atlantic hurricane season. The season runs June 1 through November 30, and most of the activity comes between the middle of August and the middle of October. If you have not done the list below, do it this week.
What the risk is here
Wesley Chapel, FL is inland. It sits outside the coastal storm-surge evacuation zones along the Gulf side of Pasco County, so surge is not the risk here. The risk here is wind, power loss that can last for days, and debris: tree limbs, screen panels and anything loose in a yard. Heavy rain can flood streets and low spots, and a pool cage can come apart and take the lanai screen with it.
Being inland does not exempt you from county orders. Pasco County evacuation orders can apply to everyone in a manufactured home, mobile home or RV anywhere in the county, and to low-lying or flood-prone parcels, whatever the zone map says about the neighborhood around them. Check your address on the Pasco County evacuation zone finder on the county's website, write down what it says, and follow county orders when a storm is coming. That is the whole rule. We are not emergency management. The county is, and our job is the house.
The list, part one: outside
Do this at the start of the season and again the day a storm gets a name.
- Lanai furniture. Chairs, tables, cushions, umbrellas, the grill. Everything that is not bolted down goes into the garage or the house. The grill goes in the garage, and the propane tank stays outside, closed and secured, never indoors.
- Pool cage loose items. Pool toys, skimmer poles, planters, anything sitting in the cage. Do not drain the pool. If a screen panel is already loose, it will be the first thing to go, so have it fixed in the off-season.
- Potted plants. Inside, or laid on their sides against a wall on the ground.
- Shutters or panels, if the house has them. Know where they are stored, count them against the windows, and find the hardware and the tools in August, not when a storm is already forecast. If you do not have them, decide about them in the off-season rather than the week of a storm.
- Yard. Have trees trimmed early in the season. Cuttings left at the curb the week of a storm become debris. Bring in the flags and the decorations, and put the trash cans in the garage.
The list, part two: power, food and water
- Generator and fuel. If you have a portable generator, run it once a month so you know it starts, and store fuel the way the manufacturer says. When it is running, it belongs outside, at least 20 feet from the house, with the exhaust pointed away from doors, windows and vents. Never in the garage, even with the door open.
- Freezer. Fill it. A full freezer holds a safe temperature for about 48 hours with the door shut, and a half-full one holds for about 24 hours. Fill the gaps with jugs of water.
- The quarter. Freeze a cup of water, set a quarter on top, and leave it in the freezer. If the quarter is still on top after the storm, the freezer never thawed. If it is at the bottom, everything thawed and refroze and needs to go.
- Fridge and freezer photos. Photograph the shelves before the storm. It is your only record if you have to throw everything out.
- Water. 1 gallon per person per day, for several days, for drinking and washing. Fill the bathtubs before the storm for flushing toilets if the water goes out.
- Batteries and light. Flashlights or lanterns in every room with fresh batteries, and a spare set.
- Phones. Every phone and power bank charged full the night before. Fill the car's gas tank, and remember that the car is also a phone charger and air conditioning if the power is out.
- Cash. Card readers and cash machines do not work without power.
The list, part three: people, pets and paper
- Medications list. Write down every medication in the house, the dose, and the prescribing doctor, and keep a week's supply on hand. Ask the pharmacy about refilling early when a storm is named.
- Pet supplies. A week of food, a leash and collar with tags, a carrier per pet, a photo of each pet on your phone, and any records a shelter or a hotel might ask for.
- Documents. Insurance policies, IDs, the deed, and photos or a walkthrough video of every room, in a zip bag and in the cloud.
- The house map. Make sure more than one adult in the house knows where the water main and the electrical panel are and how to shut them off.
What our pre-storm visit covers
If you are away, or you would rather not do the heavy carrying, we come out before the storm for a $95 pre-storm prep visit. We bring the lanai furniture, cushions and loose cage items inside, move the potted plants, put the trash cans in the garage, check that every door and window is locked, photograph the house inside and out as a before record, photograph the thermostat and the freezer, and send it all to you the same day. We do not install shutters or panels; if you have them, arrange that with whoever normally does it.
We do not visit during the storm itself. When the county says it is safe to be on the roads, we come back.
What the post-storm check covers
The $95 post-storm check is how you find out whether you need to come down. We walk the exterior for damage and look at the roof from the ground, check the pool cage and screens, look for water intrusion at every window and ceiling, check whether the power is on, check the quarter in the freezer, confirm the A/C is running, and send photos the same day. If the power is out and the house is empty, you hear that from us right away so you can decide what to do about the freezer and the humidity.
Both storm visits are free for anyone on a monthly home watch plan, which is $150 a month for weekly visits or $85 a month for every other week.
For the owners who are away
If your house in Wesley Chapel is empty from May to October, the pre-storm visit is the one you cannot do from another state, and the post-storm check is how you find out what happened without driving down to look. Put us, the pool company and the lawn crew on your gate list before you leave, and tell your alarm company we may be at the house.
Check your zone today. It takes a minute. Then do the list. We are just down Bruce B. Downs in New Tampa, working the same list at our own place, and we cover Wesley Chapel and New Tampa.