Is Your Home Ready for Hurricane Season?

BILOXI, Miss. -- With the 2008 hurricane season officially here, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency urge residents to take steps to make their homes safer. Getting a home disaster-ready is a key component to a faster recovery from a hurricane or other disaster.

Hurricanes produce two primary damaging forces: high winds and flooding. Some measures to reduce the damage resulting from water and high winds are fairly simple and inexpensive; others will require a professionally-licensed contractor.

It is important to ensure that any work meets current state and local building codes. Exceeding the requirements of the building code with a "code-plus" approach to rebuilding increases the disaster resistance of a house and decreases the chance of major structural damage from wind or water. Additionally, building above the minimum standards may result in lower insurance costs. For more detailed information, homeowners should talk to their local building department, a professional home builder, architect, contractor or building-supply retailer.