A useful storm plan separates four responsibilities: the owner's decisions, official emergency instructions, work performed by qualified providers, and the limited coordination a home watch service may be authorized to provide.
Start before a storm is named
Review insurance, document the property, maintain systems and protective features, update the vendor list, and settle access and spending authority early. FEMA guidance recommends knowing evacuation risk, signing up for official alerts, reviewing insurance, protecting the property, and keeping important documents safe. Waiting for a warning can make providers, materials, fuel, and safe access harder to obtain.
Build a property-specific decision sheet
- Owner and alternate decision-maker contacts
- Town, county, alarm, utility, association, and emergency contacts
- Current insurance carrier and claim contact
- Approved shutter, generator, landscape, pool, HVAC, roofing, electrical, plumbing, and cleanup providers
- Who can authorize which work and expenses
- Vehicle, outdoor item, delivery, and household priorities
- How and when the owner wants status communication
Know what requires a qualified provider
Shutter installation, generator work, electrical or gas work, roof access, tree work, structural evaluation, water remediation, mold assessment, and repairs may be hazardous or regulated. They should be assigned to the appropriate qualified provider—not improvised as part of a home watch visit.
When a storm threatens
Follow official watches, warnings, evacuation orders, and local instructions. Ready.gov advises completing preparations, evacuating immediately when ordered, staying away from floodwater, and operating generators only outdoors and away from building openings. Property work must stop when conditions or authorities make access unsafe.
After the storm
Return or send anyone to the property only after public authorities permit reentry and routes and conditions are safe. An initial visual status check may note obvious exterior conditions, visible water entry from safe areas, power or HVAC status where observable, doors and windows, and other readily apparent changes. It is not a structural, roof, electrical, mold, or insurance inspection.
Document visible conditions without entering unsafe areas. Contact the owner and route specialist questions to the appropriate provider. FEMA guidance advises documenting damage and contacting the insurer; follow the insurer's instructions before cleanup or repair where required.