How to Keep Your Home Safe (and What to Do in an Emergency)

Nearly 1 in 5 houses in the U.S. are at high risk of hurricane-force winds. Strong winds of 55 to 73 mph can rip off shingles and siding, and uproot trees.

What to do: You wake up to a crash or come home to find a tree leaning into your roofline. First, do a safety check: Is everyone unharmed? Did the tree take out any electric power lines? If lines are down, contact your utility to turn off the power. Next, survey the roof, windows, siding, and walls for structural damage, as well as any damage from water, says Ian Giammanco, PhD, a meteorologist with the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety. If it’s extensive, contact your insurance agent for a preferred contractor in your area who can remove the tree and attach temporary coverings, such as tarps, to keep animals and rainwater out until more permanent repairs can be made. Next, document the damage. Enable location services on a smartphone and take photos inside and out. It’s rarely safe to climb onto a roof to inspect it. You can take photos from the top floor of a neighbor’s house, or, if you have a drone, send it up to take pictures.

How to prevent it: Before storm season, hire a tree service to remove dead branches, trim those that overhang the roof, and thin the canopy of species that are susceptible to snapping in high winds, such as Bradford pears and certain maples. An arborist can determine whether any trees are hazardous and need to be removed altogether. Before planting new trees, consider their size when fully grown to make sure none will be too close to your house or garage (or to underground plumbing lines that roots might harm).

What to do: After a storm passes, the damage isn’t always obvious. Follow the steps in the previous section to identify and document it. Check for wet insulation and staining or dripping along roof trusses (the framing that forms the peak) and in closets, storage rooms, and around recessed lighting. “Water rarely shows up where it enters a structure,” says Paul Watrous, president of the National Roof Certification and Inspection Association (NRCIA). When examining siding, look for flapping panels, sagging soffits in vinyl siding, or cracks or failed fasteners and loose or sagging panels on fiber cement siding.

How to prevent it: Have a siding contractor check for and repair or replace loose panels. Regular maintenance can help make your roof more resilient to storm damage. Keep your gutters and roof free of leaves, dirt, and other debris, which can force water under the roofing material and cause leaks. If you notice shingle granules on the ground around your home’s perimeter, it may be time for a roof inspection. An NRCIA LeakFree inspection ($495; nrcia.org) can give you a sense of its condition. Before a storm, always secure outdoor furniture or bring it indoors so it can’t become airborne.

90 percent of natural disasters in the U.S. involve flooding. “If it rains at your home, it can flood at your home,” says Mark Friedlander of the Insurance Information Institute. Faulty appliances and frozen pipes can also produce extensive water damage.

What to do: You may be able to vacuum up a few inches of water with a wet/dry vac. Don’t enter a basement if outlets or power cords are underwater. Turn off the power at the panel; the Federal Emergency Management Agency recommends shutting off individual circuits first. If you have a gas furnace or water heater, turn it off or contact your gas company to find out how to proceed. Remember, floodwaters may have contaminants that can wind up in your home once the waters recede.

How to prevent it: Start by filling small holes in your foundation with mortar and masonry caulk, or hydraulic cement; hire a pro to fix larger holes. Next, “pay close attention to the grading around your home,” Giammanco says. “Where does the water run?” Installing a French drain—a gravel-filled trench with a perforated pipe—can help redirect water away from the house. Consider installing a sump pump with backup battery power near mechanical equipment in your cellar.

To prevent sewage from backing up into your home during a storm, a licensed plumber can install a sewer backflow preventer system that allows sewage to flow out but not back into the house. Consider adding a separate insurance rider for water backup and sump pump overflow. In the case of an imminent hurricane, stacking sandbags can help redirect water away from your home.

What to do: For a leaking water heater, turn off the gas or electricity and close the cold water valve. Attach a hose to the tank to drain any remaining water. If your washing machine is the culprit, “your best bet is to turn it off or switch off the breaker to stop the pump in the machine from running,” says Mike Winkeljohn, a senior regional operations manager at HomeServe, a home emergency repair service company. The same goes for a dishwasher leak. Use a mop and towels to clean up the water, then turn on fans to dry the area and prevent mold from forming. If there’s a lot of water, call a water remediation company.

How to prevent it: Make sure your water heater has a drain pan beneath it with an outlet connected to a drain line that diverts leaks to a sump pump or drainage system. Place leak detectors, like those from X-Sense, on or near your appliances and water heater, and monitor them on your smartphone.

What to do: Turn off the main water valve and open faucets to relieve the pressure. Follow the cleaning steps for “Your Water Heater or Appliance Is Leaking,” above.

How to prevent it: If you’ll be away from home for some time, turn off the water and open some faucets. Open sink cabinet doors so warmer air can reach plumbing. Decouple outdoor hoses to prevent freezing, and insulate exposed piping in cold spaces. Have a plumber install a leak detection sensor on your water main to alert you to problems.

Home fires can be a deadly mix of high heat, toxic gases, and thick black smoke, and they move incredibly swiftly. The 2025 Los Angeles fires also showed that wildfires can rage in cities as well as forests.

What to do: Cooking causes the vast majority of home fires. If a fire ignites in a pan, smother it with a lid, turn off the stove, and leave the pan covered until it’s cooled completely. If the fire is in an oven or a microwave, keep the door closed, turn the appliance off, and, for the microwave, unplug it. If the fire doesn’t go out, you can try using a fire extinguisher (see "Fire Safety Essentials," below). But if a fire doesn’t die down immediately, drop the extinguisher and get out, then call 911.

How to prevent it: Be vigilant about what’s on the stove, especially when frying or cooking with oil or grease. “Keep anything that can burn, such as dish towels and oven mitts, at least 3 feet from the cooking area,” says the NFPA’s Susan McKelvey. And never use metal or aluminum foil in a microwave oven.

To reduce the risk of home heating fires, have your heating system inspected annually by a qualified professional. And keep combustible materials at least 3 feet away from heat sources, including space heaters, which should also be turned off before you leave a room. Plug major appliances directly into wall outlets instead of using extension cords, and make sure electrical cords don’t run across doorways or under rugs. Consider installing Internet of Things (IoT) sensors in outlets, such as the Ting IoT from Whisker Labs. These devices detect arcing, the precursor to most electrical fires.

To prevent lithium-ion batteries from overheating and starting fires, don’t charge electronic devices overnight, and use only the manufacturer’s designated chargers. Place smoke detectors on all floors of your home (in the basement, too), check them monthly, and replace them every 10 years.

What to do: If a fire is imminent, be sure emergency supplies (see “Your Ready-for-Anything Kit,” below) are in your car, which should have at least half a tank of gas. CalFire, a state agency that provides fire protection and emergency services in 38 of California’s 58 counties, also recommends taking these next steps:

• Bring flammable items like patio furniture, trash receptacles, and doormats indoors.

• Close all windows and doors.

• Move anything that might easily burn to the middle of each room.

• Turn off the gas at the meter and pilot lights.

• Shut off air conditioning or heating.

• Shut off propane tanks and move propane-fueled barbecue equipment away from the house.

• Attach garden hoses to faucets for firefighters’ use, but don’t leave sprinklers on.

• Leave a ladder out for firefighters to access the roof.

• Leave interior and exterior lights on so your home is visible.

How to prevent it: Learn what your local and state laws require for wildfire prevention. Be sure to regularly clear debris from your roof, gutters, and downspouts, as well as from under decks (and any items stored there). Keep an area at least 5 feet from your home clear of dead trees, plantings, and flammable fences and walkways, and consider “hardscaping” with gravel, pavers, or concrete instead. Flying embers cause many homes to go up in flames, Giammanco says. Keep embers out: Install ⅛-inch or finer steel mesh over vents in attics and crawl spaces. Consult CalFire’s Wildfire Action Plan for more recommendations.