Regrouping after the storm
- Laura Moore: Housebroken
- September 18, 2019
- 903
Our child’s house was very lucky this time. Dorian pretty much ignored her. There were a few plants blown around and lots of leaves covering the lawn, but no real damage to speak about.
Houses fear storms, especially windy storms, much more than their occupants. They can’t run to save themselves but must stand and take whatever that particular stormy beast dishes out. Living among tall trees adds to house fears, especially if those trees are thick and many branched. A big limb falling on a house roof hurts that house like crazy, and when a house is hurt, it’s expensive.
In the Bahamas, Dorian literally tore apart all the houses in his path and left them for dead. Those poor places cannot be repaired; their remains are scattered all over the landscape. If new places are built, I sure hope they are built with super-strong walls and roofs, or next year the carnage will be repeated. No house is immune from high winds, rushing water and lightening strikes.
Our house doesn’t worry about tall trees. Those are too far away to do much damage. Flooding isn’t an issue; there are plenty of places for water to run. During a big thunder storm with lightening dancing about, our house has been known to quake. It makes us nervous too. Being hit by lightening inside a house rarely, if ever, happens, but the house can certainly be struck, and she knows it.
We had friends years ago that put up a lightening rod a decent distance from their house. During a storm their house got struck, but the lightening rod was perfectly safe.
Keeping a house safe is full-time work. Keeping trees trimmed is a major effort. Those branches can wreak havoc. A fire alarm is a wise investment. Mother Nature is full of surprises, so rest assured that no matter what we do to protect our houses, she can demolish any structure with a flick of her wind.
Keep that insurance paid up.