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Prepare for hurricane season in spring, before it opens in early summer, in this order: insurance and documents first (a new flood policy takes 30 days to take effect), then the roof, gutters, and drainage, then shutters and the garage door, then trees and loose items, then backup power and supplies for days or weeks. Everything on the list is cheaper and easier in April than in August, when contractors, plywood, and generators are gone.
This post is the hurricane half of the regional storm and freeze guide, expanded into a working checklist. Use it for a coastal house, and use it inland too; wind and water do not stop at the county line.
Why does hurricane prep start in spring?
Hurricane prep starts in spring because the two slowest items on the list, insurance and contractors, cannot be rushed once a storm is on the map. FEMA's hurricane preparation guide says most property insurance does not cover flood losses, that flood insurance is a separate policy, and that a new policy takes 30 days to take effect. A roofer, a shutter installer, or a tree crew booked in April shows up in May; the same call in August joins a waiting list that a named storm makes longer.
Ready.gov's hurricane page sets the frame: hurricanes are not just a coastal problem; know your evacuation zone and routes; have several ways to receive alerts; keep insurance policies and personal documents up to date with copies in a secure, password-protected digital space; strengthen the home by clearing drains and gutters, bringing in outside furniture, and considering hurricane shutters; keep phones charged with backup power; and gather supplies for days or weeks.
What paperwork should be ready before the season?
Before the season, the paperwork should be current, copied, and reachable from a phone: the homeowners policy and its declarations page, a flood policy if you have one or the date you bought it, photos of every room and every piece of equipment, and the contact numbers for your insurer, your agent, and, for a new build, your builder. Ready.gov's instruction is copies in a secure, password-protected digital space; a binder in a house that floods is not a backup.
Read the policy for what it says about wind, the deductibles, and flood before you need to know. Flood insurance is its own subject, and the first-year questions for a new build are in home insurance for a new build. Then photograph the house: each room from two corners, closets and cabinets open, the exterior from all four sides, and every appliance and system with its label legible. The photos are the inventory a claim is settled against.
In Property Station the policy goes on the Documents page as an Insurance document with its Expiry Date, and the room photos go in the same place (see what the app keeps), so the whole file is on your phone during an evacuation. The Document Vault help article walks through it.
What should you do to the house itself?
The house work is about water and wind: keep the water moving off the roof and away from the foundation, keep the wind out of the openings, and keep loose objects from becoming projectiles. FEMA's guide adds the flood-specific items: a water alarm, a sump pump with battery backup, check valves in the sewer lines, and raising the furnace, water heater, and electrical panel if they sit where water could reach them. Most of it is a weekend in April.
The house list, in order
- Roof: inspect it from the ground and the attic and fix lifted shingles, flashing, and pipe boots now
- Gutters and downspouts: clear them and confirm the downspouts discharge away from the house
- Drainage: walk the grading after a hard rain; water that pools at the foundation in a normal storm floods in a hurricane
- Sump: test the sump pump and add a battery backup if it has none
- Openings: shutters or panels labeled by window, with the hardware installed and the panels stored where you can reach them; check the garage door bracing
- Trees: trim limbs over the roof and near lines while crews are available
- Loose items: know what comes inside or gets tied down when a storm is named
- Flood items: a water alarm, check valves, and elevated equipment where the house has flooded before
Shutters deserve their own decision: panels, accordion, roll-down, or impact glass, each with a different cost, install time, and answer to who puts them up in a hurry. Hurricane shutters explained compares them; order before the season, because an order placed after a storm is named is unlikely to arrive in time. The garage door is the largest opening on most houses and, in the houses we see, the one owners forget. A wind-rated door or a bracing kit is a door-company job, and for a new build the question to ask before closing is which wind rating the door carries.
How do you prepare for the power going out?
Prepare for the power going out by assuming it will, for days: charged phones and a backup battery, flashlights rather than candles, a plan for the refrigerator and freezer, water stored, medication on hand, and a generator only if you will run it by the rules. Ready.gov's page says to keep phones charged and have backup power, and to gather supplies for days or weeks; the generator rules come from the CPSC, and they are not optional.
Ready.gov's kit list starts with water at one gallon per person per day for several days and a several-day supply of food, then the radio, flashlight, first aid kit, batteries, whistle, and a wrench or pliers to turn off utilities. The food, medicine, and pipe questions for a long outage are the same in a hurricane as in an ice storm; the winter storm and outage post covers them with Ready.gov's numbers for how long the refrigerator and freezer hold. Portable generator safety covers the transfer switch, the fuel, and the monthly test run that keeps a generator starting in September.
What do you do when a storm is named?
When a storm is named, the work changes from preparation to execution: watch the forecast from several sources, confirm your evacuation zone and route, bring in the loose items, put up the shutters, fill the car and the water containers, charge everything, and pack the go bag. Ready.gov's instruction to know your evacuation zone and routes is the one to settle now, in daylight, because an evacuation order is not the time to look it up.
- SpringInsurance and documents, photos of the house, roof and gutters, shutters ordered, generator serviced
- Season opensSupplies stocked, go bag packed, trees trimmed, evacuation route confirmed
- Storm namedLoose items in, shutters up, tanks and containers filled, phones and batteries charged, forecast from several sources
- Warning or evacuation orderFollow the order; the house is replaceable
- AfterPhotos before cleanup, damage reported, dates recorded
Alerts matter as much as shutters. Ready.gov says to have several ways to receive them; tornado prep for homeowners covers the weather radio and the shelter spot, which a hurricane household needs too. If you evacuate, we recommend shutting off the water at the main before you go, and the gas only if the utility or the order tells you to. Do not come back until authorities say the area is safe.
What should you record after the storm?
After the storm, record the damage before you clean it up: photos and video of every affected area, a list of damaged items against the pre-season inventory, the date and time you reported the claim, the claim number, and every receipt for emergency repairs and temporary housing. The NAIC's claim guidance is to notify the insurer right away, list all damaged property, photograph it, and keep receipts; the pre-season photos are what make the list credible.
How to document damage for an insurance claim is the step-by-step. Two records matter for the house itself, not just the claim: what failed (a shutter panel that did not fit, a downspout that backed up, a garage door that flexed) and what you would change before next season. Write both on the property's page while it is fresh; next April's list starts there. Note the dates of each pre-season task too, so the record shows the roof was inspected and the gutters cleared before the storm.
Common questions
Is hurricane prep only for coastal homes?
No. Ready.gov says plainly that hurricanes are not just a coastal problem; wind, rain, and flooding reach well inland. If tropical storms show up on your local forecast in a normal year, the house list applies, and the flood insurance question applies most of all.
When is it too late to buy flood insurance?
FEMA's hurricane guide says a new flood policy takes 30 days to take effect, and most property insurance does not cover flood losses. Buy it in spring, or as soon as you read this, not when a storm is named. Ask your agent whether any exception applies to your purchase.
What should you photograph before the season?
Every room from two corners, every closet and cabinet open, every piece of equipment with its label, and the exterior from all four sides. Store the photos with the insurance policy where you can reach them from a phone. They are the inventory a claim is built on.
What goes in the go bag?
Ready.gov's kit list is the standard. Water at one gallon per person per day for several days, food, a battery or hand crank radio, a flashlight, a first aid kit, batteries, a whistle, chargers and a backup battery, copies of documents, and medication. Keep it packed where you can grab it if an evacuation order comes.
What should you do next?
Do the paperwork step this week, whatever the month: policy read, flood question answered, photos taken and stored where a phone can reach them. Then put the house list on the calendar for the month before the season opens, and book the roofer and the tree crew now, while they are answering the phone.