How to keep Irene out of your house

Big, blustery Hurricane Irene is barreling up the East Coast and she's got her eye on your home. And when she sits around your house, she sits around your house.

by Broderick Perkins
© 2011 DeadlineNews.Com

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Deadline Newsroom - Big, blustery Hurricane Irene is barreling up the East Coast and she's got her eye on your home.

And when she sits around your house, she sits around your house.

Kinetic Analysis Corp. expects Irene to cause as much as $13.9 billion in insured losses if she blusters ashore in full force.

The Category 3 storm will be packing rain-lashing winds of more than 100 miles an hour, but the National Weather Service projects, before expected landfall this weekend around North Carolina's Outer Banks, the tropical cyclone could become an even more devastating Category 4 storm pushing winds at more than 130 miles an hour.

Photo: Category 3 Hurricane Irene churns on August 25, 2011 in the Caribbean Sea. Irene is projected to become Category 4 storm with winds more than 131 miles per hour before landfall on the eastern seaboard of the U.S. (Photo by NASA via Getty Images)

A Category 4-level storm (before the Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Scale was developed) that hit the island port city of Galveston, TX in 1900, is the deadliest natural disaster in U.S. history. It killed 8,000 -- one in six residents -- and destroyed most of the buildings in it's path.

Other examples of Category 4 storms include Hazel (1954), Carmen (1974), Iniki (1992), Luis (1995), Iris (2001), Charley (2004). Katrina, which hit the Gulf Shore in 2005 was a Category 5 at its strongest point, followed by Rita, a Category 3.

If you are among the 16 million Americans in the path of the storm and haven't already evacuated -- and you should if you've been so advised -- it's time to batten more than the hatches.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency and other disaster preparedness experts swear by the time-honored phrase "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure" to rally property owners to the practice of mitigation -- preventing damage before it occurs, rather than cleaning up afterward.

While a hurricane comes with a wind blown storm surge that can raise water levels and cause flooding, as in the Katrina storm, you want your home to be as intact as possible after the storm passes.

The key is keeping Irene outside.

"The trick to making a structure extremely wind resistant is to create a continuous connection path from the roof rafters or trusses all the way down to the foundation," says Cincinnati's master contractor Tim Carter of AskTheBuilder.com.

Here's how.

Roofing, walls

FEMA says the broad, flat surface of the home below gable-end roofing makes a home particularly susceptible to high wind damage. If the framing -- rafters or trusses -- isn't braced, winds could blow off the roof and, once inside, blast out the walls.

A professional roof inspection can indicate if your roof needs bracing. Hire only licensed, specialized contractors to do the work -- installing 2-by-4's between the roof rafters or trusses at each end of the house, as well as anchoring accessible roof rafters and trusses to the wall system.

If you have to strengthen interior walls to hold the roof connections, that could mean removing surface covering to get at the framing, says the Natural Hazards Research and Applications Information Center at the University of Colorado.

Windows

Double- or triple-glazed windows not only provide a stronger wind barrier, but add energy-efficient insulation, greater fire protection and noise abatement qualities to your home.

However, even triple-glazed windows that aren't protected can offer easier access to wind borne missiles than permanent storm shutter (not the cosmetic variety) protected windows.

For every $1 invested in wind shutters, at least $5 is saved in mitigated interior damages, according to the Emergency Service Center South, in Dade County, FL.

Protected windows also reduce the risk of roof damage caused by high winds that manage to penetrate the building.

Temporary, less expensive plywood covers are another option you can also use to protect sliding glass doors or large widowed areas. However, don't nail down the plywood, as frantic homeowners are often shown doing during televised news broadcasts of approaching storms.

Fasten plywood panels down with screws or lag bolts long enough to penetrate the wall studs around the window, not just the siding or wall covering.

Doors

For doubled-sided entry doors, add a heavy-duty dead bolt or replace the existing dead bolt with a stronger one. Add sturdy slide bolts at the top and bottom of the inactive door and replace all existing hinge screws with longer screws that extend further into the doors and frame. Likewise, shore up single doors and replace old or damaged ones with stronger ones, FEMA recommends.

Garage doors

The garage door is another broad, weak surface. A skilled do-it-yourself home owner can perform the necessary reinforcement work -- adding girts across the back of the door and strengthening the glider wheel tracks. Also replace old or damaged garage doors with a stronger model. Reinforce it as well. Smaller single-car garage doors resist wind forces better than two-car garage doors and windowless doors are safer because glass is easily broken by high winds and wind blown debris.

Wind-borne missiles

Remove or move trees so they are far enough away from your house that they can't fall on it.

Anchor storage sheds and other outbuildings to a permanent foundation or with straps and ground anchors. Keep your property clear of debris and other items that can become wind-borne missiles.

Visit FEMA's Hurricane page online for more information.

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Broderick Perkins, an award-winning consumer journalist, parlayed 30 years of old-school journalism into a digital real estate news service, the San Jose, CA-based DeadlineNews Group, including DeadlineNews.Com, a real estate news and consulting service and Web site, and the Deadline Newsroom, DeadlineNews.Com's news back shop.

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California Fire Victims Obtain Fast Housing, Disaster Assistance

by Broderick Perkins
© 2007 DeadlineNews.Com

Deadline Newsroom – The new National Housing Locator is getting its first test under fire just weeks after it was launched to solve past shortcomings in disaster-related housing emergencies.

In an example of federal readiness for the nation's latest disaster, providing shelter quickly became a focal point for the short and long term needs of residents displaced by the California inferno.

Mortgage assistance, special rebuilding help for Native Americans and other relief efforts also poured into the fire-ravaged area by week's end.

With less than 2,000 homes actually destroyed by California wildfires still raging since they erupted last week, the need for housing was a fraction of the hundreds of thousands of housing units needed following Hurricane Katrina two years ago.

But even before fire victims were being released from temporary shelters, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Affairs (HUD) implemented it's new National Housing Locator and said some 15,000 housing units were available in the immediate California-Nevada-Arizona tri-state area.

That should be more than enough to serve fire victims.

Just weeks before fires ringed Southern California, the American Red Cross and HUD announced a partnership to provide speedy access to critical housing information in order to swiftly put a roof over the heads of people who need shelter after a presidentially declared disaster.

Using housing information from SocialServe.Com, Apartments.Com, HomeSales.Gov, Rentlinx.Com, and other sites, the National Housing Locator allows HUD staff and local housing officials to locate available housing by area, price and number of bedrooms.

The service can also determine whether landlords accept pets and housing vouchers or whether the units are accessible to the disabled, elderly or other persons requiring special accommodation. In most cases, photos and landlord contact information is also provided.

"After these devastating fires, HUD can help families searching for another place to call home," said HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson in a prepared statement.

"The sooner families can find transitional housing, the sooner they can begin to rebuild their homes and their lives," he added.

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff promised during a conference call to Escondido, CA-based North County Times editors and reporters that no Katrina-style trailers would be used to shelter the homeless -- even on a temporary basis.

After Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the immediate housing shortage was perhaps the most indicting evidence that the nation was not prepared for such a disaster.

A national grassroots effort to house homeless Gulf Coast residents met with varied levels of success, but helped prompt the Feds to develop the national locat0r.

The lack of sufficient emergency housing forced hundreds of thousands of residents to flee and never to return to the Gulf Coast area.

For the California disaster, HUD said trained staff was available at disaster relief centers in San Bernardino, Rancho Bernardo, Fallbrook, Ramona, and Rancho San Diego, CA.

HUD also announced $5.2 million in federal funding was available for nearly 100 Native American homes lost to fire on four reservations. Funding is also available in the form a block grants to repair or restore tribal facilities including community centers, clinics and other service facilities. Loan guarantees are also available to repair or replace housing.

The federal housing agency also ordered a 90-day moratorium on some foreclosures on FHA-insured mortgages and offered FHA mortgage insurance to those considering rebuilding or buying another home. The insurance enables a borrower to obtain 100 percent financing.

Elsewhere, housing assistance was available from Apartments.com and Move.com (formerly Homestore.com).

Apartments.com launched the Southern California Wildfires Resource Center to provide displaced residents with quick access to local support and information and a listing of apartment communities offering special discounts or other support for wildfire victims. The center pinpoints relief areas, including Los Angeles, Inland Empire, Orange County and San Diego.

Move.com set up a Short-Term Rental Options Online area for rentals available on a weekly or monthly basis. Landlords with available housing can also use the service for free0 to supply temporary housing options to displaced residents.

On the industry front, the California Association of Realtors(CAR), through its CAR Disaster Relief Fund, offered financial assistance both to its members and others in the community with wildfire-related needs. Likewise, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) offered a half million dollar donation through its the REALTORS® Relief Foundation to those in need.

Homeowners should also check insurance policies for coverage that provides benefits to cover the cost of temporary stays away from homes destroyed or rendered uninhabitable.

Likewise tax professionals can explain casualty loss write-offs and extended tax filing periods related to a declared disaster in which homes are destroyed or damaged.

• The Legacy Of Living In A Hot Spot
• HUD, Red Cross To Speed Delivery Of Disaster Housing
• Sites To See: Browsing For Specialized Housing
• Browsing For Katrina Cottage Housing
• Free Shelter From The Storm Not Free Of Risks
• Free Shelter From The Storm

© 2007 DeadlineNews.Com

Broderick Perkins, an award-winning consumer journalist of 30 years, is publisher and executive editor of San Jose, CA-based DeadlineNews.Com, a real estate news and consulting service, and the new Deadline Newsroom, DeadlineNews.Com's new backshop. In both cases, it's where all the news really hits home.

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HUD, Red Cross To Speed Delivery Of Disaster Housing

by Broderick Perkins
© 2007 DeadlineNews.Com

Deadline Newsroom – The next time a major disaster hits America, victims may not have to resort to a refugee-like exodus that takes them far from the area, as hundreds of thousands did following Hurricane Katrina.

And those who have housing available can quickly get it filled provided they are in the system.

The American Red Cross and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced a partnership this week so that those forced from their homes will have speedy access to critical housing information that could swiftly put a roof over their heads.

With the refined National Housing Locator system ready to go, HUD will gain access to Red Cross shelters in the earliest stages of a presidentially declared disaster so it can begin to house eligible HUD-assisted families, the elderly and others in need.

After Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the immediate housing shortage was perhaps the most indicting evidence that the nation was not prepared for such a disaster.

The lack of sufficient emergency housing forced hundreds of thousands of residents to flee and never to return to the Gulf Coast area.

After the storm, the Federal Emergency Management Agency shipped in some 120,000 problematic so-called "FEMA Trailers." About 60,000 remain in use.

Sierra Club tests of dozens of the trailers found high formaldehyde levels in 83 percent of those tested and residents complained of noxious fumes, headaches, burning eyes, running noses, asthma and other health problems in early 2006.

The Centers For Disease Control has yet to make official government tests.

Scores of trailers also remained empty and unused creating FEMA Trailer Shanty Towns that were easy pickings for vandals to strip.

What compounded matters was that the outpouring of generosity fromprivate individuals and others offering housing, often for free, was put off by federal and emergency agencies unable to quickly integrate grassroots-generated housing into bureaucratic and non-profit systems.

Private individuals offering shelter also couldn't overlook the potential for liability (for them as property owners and for any agency approving the use of private housing, among others). Tenants' rights to perhaps stay on after property owners changed their mind and the potential for fraud or crime stemming from putting up strangers, also became issues.

Recognizing the crucial nature of housing after disaster, HUD and the Red Cross hope to change those shortcomings in time for the next Big One.

Homeless experts say a roof over your head does a lot more than provide shelter from the storm, which certainly is a good start.

A home provides a sanitary place to store and prepare food and water, bathe and groom. A home provides privacy, a place for dignified respite at the end of a long day, and a location from which to receive regular medical or emergency assistance.

A home is also an address to leave for prospective employers and others who need to reach you and it's a place where you can stay put and reconnect with family, friends and others.

"These large disasters often leave behind despair and confusion in the hearts and minds of disaster survivors. All of us who work to help these individuals must keep this in mind, and do all that we can to get the necessary services to them as quickly as possible," said Joe Becker, Red Cross Senior Vice President for Disaster Services.

HUD's line to the Red Cross during an emergency will give it the authority to help displaced residents with

• The National Housing Locator . The system is an outgrowth of housing assistance efforts and lessons-learned following Hurricane Katrina. It was finalized earlier this year to combine federal housing resources with those of several commercial apartment locators and housing websites. The one-stop emergency housing locater is up and running at all times and can be used by anyone, but properties are often rented or sold based on certain income and need requirements.

• Immediate foreclosure relief. Once the President declares a major disaster, HUD issues a 90-day moratorium on foreclosures and forbearance on foreclosures of Federal Housing Administration (FHA)-insured home mortgages.

• Making mortgage insurance available. HUD's Section 203(h) program provides FHA insurance to disaster victims who have lost their homes and face rebuilding or buying another home. Borrowers are eligible for 100 percent financing, including closing costs.

• Making insurance available for both mortgages and home rehabilitation . HUD's Section 203(k) fixer-upper loan program enables those who have lost their homes to finance the purchase or refinance of a house along with its repair through a single mortgage. It also allows homeowners who have damaged houses to finance the rehabilitation of their existing single-family home.

More information about disaster assistance from HUD is available on line.

© 2007 DeadlineNews.Com

Broderick Perkins, an award-winning consumer journalist of 30 years, is publisher and executive editor of San Jose, CA-based DeadlineNews.Com, a real estate news and consulting service, and the new Deadline Newsroom, DeadlineNews.Com's new backshop. In both cases, it's where all the news really hits home.

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