It goes without saying that we all hope that natural disasters will never impact us. Still, it’s important to be prepared so that if a disaster does strike near our Tulsa homes for rent, you can stay safe and keep your family and home as protected as possible. A little preparedness can go a very long way, so take the time to read through these tips and make a plan. There is a lot you can do to reduce the impact of a disaster on yourself and your family.
In Oklahoma, it’s particularly important to be prepared for floods and tornadoes, so we’ll mostly be focusing on preparing for these types of natural disasters. Bear in mind that we are not experts, and you should always follow the advice of those who issue official guidelines or recommendations for residents of the Tulsa area.
Now, without further ado, let’s talk about what you can do to be prepared for a natural disaster near your Tulsa homes for rent.
Store Important Documents Securely
Should your home be damaged by a natural disaster, you may be forced to replace much of what you own, but it’s particularly challenging to replace official documents like birth certificates, Social Security cards, wills, and so on, and the last time you want to deal with that is when you’re also dealing with the effects of a natural disaster. Make sure you have a water- and fire-proof container—preferably a safe or lockbox—for your most essential documents.
Keep An Emergency Kit On Hand
An emergency kit is essential in a natural disaster, especially one that may leave you with limited access to the resources in your home. We recommend keeping one ready at all times, but at the very least you should know what to pull together into one of these kits as soon as you receive a flood or tornado warning.
An emergency kit should include a first aid kit, a flashlight, extra batteries, a radio that can be charged with a hand-crank or takes batteries, non-perishable food, several gallons of water, sanitation and personal hygiene items, extra cash, an emergency blanket, something to charge your cell phones with (some emergency radios double as phone chargers), and a 7-day supply of any medications and medical supplies you and your family use regularly.
Know Your Safe Spaces Ahead of Time
It’s important to have a plan before disaster strikes and to make sure everyone in your family is on the same page. Determine which room in your house will be most secure in a tornado or flood—for tornados, this is usually a garage, bathroom, or any room on the ground floor with no windows. If you have children in school or daycare, ask their teacher or daycare director about existing disaster plans early on so that you can have more peace of mind and know where to rendezvous with your child after a disaster. You should also know what your nearest evacuation centers are in case you need to leave your home and seek help or are away from your home when a disaster occurs.
Be Prepared For An Evacuation
Speaking of evacuation centers, be prepared to evacuate the area when advised to do so by emergency management officials. Whenever possible, always keep at least half a tank of gas in your car and know how you will evacuate if you don’t have access to a car. Make sure everyone in your family knows where to meet in case you must evacuate separately from one another. Familiarize yourself with more than one route out of the area in case certain routes are flooded, blocked, or otherwise dangerous. If you have pets, have a plan for how you will care for them in an emergency, since many public shelters may not accept pets that are not service animals.
That’s it for our disaster preparedness tips! We hope you never have to use them, but these measures should help you if you’re ever facing a natural disaster near our Tulsa homes for rent. If you found this post helpful, be sure to bookmark our blog page for easy access to future posts. Before long we’ll have another blog post up, but in the meantime, make sure you’re following Legacy Living on Facebook so you never miss our special events, promotions, and community updates!