Tips to safeguard your Chicago home from bad weather

Sandy hit New York City Monday, Oct. 29, 2012 with a hybrid squall that flooded the city’s historic waterfront, swamped rail yards, subway tracks, tunnels and roads and caused the largest storm-related outage in our history according to several media outlets, leaving about 670,000 customers without power in the city and suburban Westchester County.

Although Sandy has now transitioned to a post-tropical cyclone, it’s still expected to produce strong winds across the Mid-Atlantic and New England, accompanied by heavy rainfall to affect huge portions of the East Coast from Washington and Baltimore to Philadelphia, New York and Boston.

Now might be a good time to re-evaluate the safety of our own homes and families and make sure we don’t rest unprepared in the face of danger. Taking a few precautions can make all the difference when confronted with the wrath of nature. We’ve all had our share of bad weather here in the Midwest, with powerful storms toppling down trees and knocking power out for hours on end. Here are some tips on how to keep your home safe in times of trouble.

Assess your home’s vulnerability. Planning before the storm arrives, knowing the types of hazards that your family could be exposed to in case severe weather strikes will help you reduce the negative impacts of a storm surge, flooding or wind.

Don’t venture into the outdoors. As terrific a picture of you chased by an 11 foot tall wall of water might be, it’s a totally bad idea. There’s Photoshop for that. Instead focus on keeping your family safe, buy food that will keep and store drinking water.

Prepare an emergency kit containing a portable battery radio, a flashlight and spare batteries, water and canned food supplies, a first aid kit and essential medications. Be sure to include your pet in the evacuation plan. And also ensure you have extra cash on hand. Power is the first that goes during a massive storm.

It’s time for some fall cleaning. Ask your landlord to trim trees and shrubbery so branches don’t fly into your home and clear your property of loose material that could blow about and cause damage during extreme winds.

Keep out of harm’s way. Though we’re nowhere near the eye of the storm, Sandy might send over some high winds and waves so make sure you stay away from the Lake Michigan shore.