Tips to Prepare Your Home for Heavy Rain Events
This weekend Acadiana could be dealing with some fairly heavy rains brought on by a tropical system that's forested, as for now, to be moving through our area. How should you prepare your property to deal with this system?
It's important to note that as we talked about in another story, some of the forecast models are still not developing this system at all. Obviously, we're hoping that's the case, but this is surely something we'll be keeping sharp eyes on as the week goes by.
We all know what sort of preps we need to make in the event of...we'll just call it "The H Word", but should we prep our homes for a tropical system and if so, what should we do?
The answer is "Yes". Here are a few of the recommended preparations from disastersafety.org to make sure you, your home, and your property are in tip-top shape if we do wind up dealing with heavy rains this Father's Day Weekend.
Check and Clean Gutters and Downspouts
This is an obvious one, but sometimes the obvious ones are the most overlooked. Take a look at your gutters and downspouts and make sure they're free of leaves and other debris even if you're pretty sure they are. I say this because recently I was certain my gutters were good and clean, and they were. However, one of my downspouts was completely clogged with shingle debris that had washed down from previous storms.
Check Wall Air Conditioners
Wall air conditioner units aren't very common in Acadiana homes, but they're fairly common in commercial businesses. If your home or business does have one, disastersafety.org has put together this handy graphic to illustrate the proper steps to take when preparing for a significant rain event.
Wait Until After Storms Pass to Cut Your Grass
The Urban Naturalist on Facebook says it's better to wait until after a storm to cut grass. Apparently, longer grass can help you to avoid potential flooding. According to a Facebook post, they say that "If everyone waited to cut the grass until after, we could potentially hold a lot more water in our soil by letting nature help us out."
Also, it can help to keep the drains a little emptier and free of yard clippings.
Something else to keep in mind is your trash and recycling bins, as well as any bags of yard clippings. If heavy rains rolling through cause flash flooding, anything you have sitting on the curb can float away clog up neighborhood storm drains. Even you're thinking something is so heavy that there's no way it can float away, I promise you it can.