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Preparing your home for a possible disaster

Tips on steps to take before and after a storm.

TAMPA, Fla. — Once a disaster hits, the long process of recovery begins. The No. 1 thing people want is to be back in their home, but sometimes that's not possible right away.

SBP is a disaster recovery nonprofit company created after Katrina hit New Orleans. The founders saw how much help they still needed six months after. From their experience, flooding causes the most damage to more homes in a hurricane.

Cofounder and CEO Zack Rosenburg says prepare your home now, even if you aren't in a flood zone. 

"Sixty percent of the people whose homes have been impacted over the last five or six years by major hurricanes have not been in mandatory flood zones," Rosenburg explains.

He says there are three things to do before a disaster hits:

  1. Get flood insurance
  2. Gather important paperwork and home documents, take pictures of them and keep them in a safe place.
  3. Video all the contents of your home. That can be as simple as walking around your home with your phone and videoing everything you have.

After a disaster:

  1. Prepare to be your own advocate with FEMA and ask for what you deserve
  2. Avoid contractor fraud
  3. Beware of mold scams

SPB has a free app called Equip that can help walk you through all these steps and hopefully make it easier for you if your home gets damaged during the storm.

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