How to Protect Your Family From a Hurricane

When preparing for a hurricane, the most important property to protect is you and your family. Make sure to have the proper protection for when the natural disaster comes. There are many different ways to protect your property that will ensure your family is safe and sound. Making sure you are using the right type of shutters is important as well as preparing beforehand with batteries, water, and non-perishable food. A generator is very important as this is what will serve as electricity for when the power goes out in your phone. This will allow you to keep phones charged, a refrigerator to stay cold, and possibly an electric car if you have one.

Make sure to find the storm protection shutters that are right for you. Do not nail up plywood because they can get ripped off and become airborne objects themself that can fly through your window. Instead invest in aluminum storm panels, accordion shutters, Bahama shutters, or roll-ups. There are many differences between the four types of shutters in terms of ease of use, aesthetics, and protection. Hurricane shutters will help protect you from airborne objects, heavy winds, and broken window glass.

Hurricane storm panels are made from .050 aluminum. They provide great protection but take a long time (4-8 hours) to deploy since they are very heavy. Storm panels have very sharp edges making it dangerous if you aren’t using the proper equipment. Deploying storm panels every hurricane season can be a real pain, however, there are better options that can be deployed faster with little labor-intensive work.

Accordion shutters are made from aluminum and provide an easy-to-use railing system that pulls them close and locks with a key. This is very easy to deploy only taking about 15 minutes to secure the whole property. Accordion shutters offer maximum protection and can stay open during the hurricane offseason allowing you to see perfectly out your window. The accordion shutters are easy to deploy and sit near the middle of the economical spectrum, providing the most for your money. Our best-selling hurricane shutter at Johnson Aluminum Products is the accordion shutter. The railing system allows homeowners to slide them shut and lock with a key ensuring your family is at the highest level of protection.

Bahama Shutters offer great protection and an aesthetic look to your property. These shutters use a top hinge design to shut and close with ease. Many people go with the Bahama shutters because it adds a tropical vibe to the property. Not only do Bahama shutters add hurricane protection, but they can also add sunshade and privacy aspects. Many people note that Bahama shutters helped lower their electric bill keeping the house cooler during the day. Bahama shutters provide high-level protection and would be great for protecting your property from high winds and airborne objects. Many people think adding hurricane protection to your property has to look ugly, but with Bahama shutters, that’s just not the case.

By far the easiest shutter to deploy yet high-level protection is the roll-up shutters. These shutters deploy with the touch of a button using a remote controlling an electric motor. The remote can deploy up to four windows at a time. These roll-ups offer maximum protection and can be deployed by the remote being either inside or outside of your property which is very nice. In the case of a power outage, you can roll up or down your windows with the hand crank with ease.

Now that we went over the hurricane shutter protection that will help keep your family safe, let’s discuss some more tasks that need to be done beforehand. Go to the grocery store and make sure to pick up batteries, flashlights, candles, non-perishable foods, water, first aid kit, toilet paper, charging power banks, generators, and strike matches. Also, make sure each car has a full tank of gas because it may not be available after the storm.

One of the last but very important tasks is to move outside objects to your garage or inside. This includes patio furniture, trashcans, garden decorations, and any other potential airborne objects. This is will help decrease the number of airborne objects that could negatively impact your property. Move cars from underneath trees and power lines so that they won’t be able to smash your car.

Now that you know how to protect your family from the next hurricane disaster you can spread this knowledge to other neighbors of yours. Also, if you are in the market for all-things hurricane protection, browse our website or give us a call at (321)956-3102 to set up an appointment for a Free Estimate! Johnson Aluminum Products proudly serves all of Brevard County and Indian River County. We operate in cities like; Viera, Melbourne, Palm Bay, Sebastian, Vero Beach, Fellsmere, etc. Our products include; accordion shutters, Bahama shutters, colonial shutters, roll-up shutters, hurricane storm panels, and porch rescreening.