Experts offer tips on how to "disaster-proof" your home
Three months into hurricane season, meteorologists say they expect potentially destructive weather to remain a threat for the rest of the year.
Protecting one's home against natural disasters is becoming more important as extreme weather such as hurricanes and wildfires becomes more common due to climate change, according to researchers. There were 30 named storms along the Atlantic Coast last year, including Hurricane Sally, contributing to $60 billion in damage to businesses and homes.
"Now is the time for families and communities to ensure their preparations are in place," said National Weather Service Director Louis Uccellini said in a statement earlier this month, adding that "these storms can be devastating."
Researchers from the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety said there are simple ways a homeowner can protect their house from high winds and fire damage. One strategy: Keep scrub, bushes and other combustible vegetation away from a property That will help keep burning plants away from your home if fire breaks out.
"For five feet all the way around, it should be noncombustible," the institute's CEO, Roy Wright, told CBS News' Bradley Blackburn.
Other safety measures include securing the shingles of your roof with special wind-proofing nails, as well as adding a water barrier to further protect the roof from heavy rain.
Alabama resident Matt Fetner had his roof tiles fortified with special nails and an added layer of water protection. The extra work proved invaluable last year when a record number of storms, including Hurricane Sally, tore through Alabama's Gulf communities. Although the roofs were ripped off neighboring homes, his house was spared, the Orange Beach resident said.
"Standing in my front yard, there are one, two, three, four, five new roofs in the cul de sac we live in," Fetner said in a video posted on social media. "Ours is the only roof that made it through that storm."
The National Weather Service earlier this year predicted up to 10 hurricanes this season, including five major ones.
"It's as if Mother Nature, through climate change, has busted through the front door of American families," Wright said.
The federal government says there were 22 weather- and climate-related disasters in the U.S. last year, resulting in nearly $100 billion in damage. Homeowners can expect to pay $20 billion in flood damage this year, according to First Street Foundation, a nonprofit group dedicated to quantifying the impact of climate change.
