Summer storms are here! Have you already spent time cleaning storm debris from your yard this year? The summer heat can create violent storms quickly and with little warning so it is a good idea to be prepared ahead of time.
The first and most important safety tip is be sure you can get indoors when a storm comes through your area. Nowhere outside is safe so get inside a building. Use any shelter you can get, including your car, if you can't get inside a building. Once you are inside, there are a few tips to keep in mind to stay safe from storm hazards that can occur inside the building you are using for shelter.
1. Stay away from windows, doors and the garage. These are potential access points for the lightning too.
2. Stay away from anything plugged into an outlet including electrical cords and appliances as well as any corded phones. Electricity from an outside lightning strike can travel up the electrical or phone lines into your home.
3. During a severe storm is not the time to take a shower or wash the dishes. If lightning travels up the plumbing, you are not only exposed but also wet making it more dangerous for you.
4. Try to shelter in the center of the structure away from any concrete walls and floors. If the lightning strike is strong enough, it can shatter concrete on its way through the wall or floor to get to the ground. Fragments of the concrete can pose a hazard in that area when it occurs.
There are a few safety tips to remember when you notice a storm brewing while you are outside beyond simply get indoors.
1. Don't wait. Lightning can travel across the sky (even blue sky) before trying to reach the ground. This means you are potentially at risk even before the storm gets to you. As soon as you hear thunder or see the storm cloud coming, get inside.
2. For the same reason, once the storm passes do wait. It is safest to wait at least 30 minutes after the storm passes to go back outside.
3. If you can't get indoors right away, keep trying to find a place where you can get indoors. There are no safe places outside. Despite any myths you may have heard, it is dangerous to hide in open areas (even in ditches or culverts), near trees, near poles with wires (electrical, phone or anything else), near bodies of water or even near metal objects such as poles and fences. Lightning and high winds can bend so hiding under bridges, overpasses or similar places is also not safe during a storm.
4. Once the storm passes, be careful when going back outside. Downed power lines may still be live. Trees around the structure could still have damaged limbs that haven't fallen yet. Sudden summer storms can cause flash flooding. Storm water may appear calm on the surface but have a strong current underneath. Never drive your vehicle through storm water because it may be stronger or deeper than it appears leaving you stranded.
When you are safe, call ServiceMaster of Gwinnett to help you with any water damage restoration needs you have from the storm damage to your home or business.
