Disaster Safety Blog

Things to know before you go

Whether you're going on vacation for spring break, travel extensively for business or pleasure, have rental property that is unoccupied, or share time between two homes, there are things you can and should do before closing up your house for any real length of time, according to the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety.

Adjust Thermostat - One of the easiest things to do, but something easily forgotten, is adjusting the thermostat.

    * In colder climates, don't turn the thermostat off. Instead, lower it to a temperature that's warm enough to keep pipes from freezing but low enough that you are not spending money to heat an empty home. (No lower than 55 degrees.)
    * In warmer climates, high temperatures and humidity can damage furniture or other home contents. In this case, set your air conditioner to 85 degrees.

Protect Plumbing - Both plastic (PVC) and copper pipes can burst. Pipes, water heaters and other appliances can leak, or in freezing weather, pipes can freeze and burst, which can cause major damage in a home left unattended.

    * If you are leaving for an extended period of time, the best protection is to have the water shut off and the water lines drained.
          o Seek the advice of a professional plumber, who can shut off the valve at the water meter and send water outdoors and away from the house or into a basement drain. Once this has been done, the plumber should flush all toilets and drain the showerhead pipe.
          o Shut off the gas to the water heater (or the gas company can do this for you), or turn the temperature control to a "vacation" setting. If your house has a water softener, shut off its supply line.
    * If you choose to leave the water service turned on or will be away only a short while:
          o Make sure all pipes are insulated, especially in a garage or basement next to an outside wall or in crawl spaces and the attic. These exposed pipes are most susceptible to freezing.
          o Heat tape can also be used to wrap pipes. Wrap the tape or cables around water pipes, plug in the cord and the heating element will warm the pipes to prevent freezing. Closely follow all manufacturers' installation and operation instructions.
          o Turn off the water supply to individual fixtures like your washing machine, icemaker, toilets and sinks.
            Flooding often occurs when hoses are worn or ruptured, or there is a leak at the connection.
          o Don't leave appliances (dishwasher, washing machine or dryer) running when you leave, and check to make sure toilets aren't running. As an extra precaution, unplug your toaster, coffee maker, microwave oven, computer and television.
          o Make sure the sump pump is working, especially in late winter or early spring when melting snow or heavy rain increases the risk of basement flooding.

Plan for High Wind - If you're going to be away during a season that brings high wind, protect your property:

          o Trim dead limbs from trees and shrubbery and store outdoor furniture and other objects that could become damaging missiles if picked up by high wind.
          o Close and lock all doors, windows, skylights and vents to keep out wind and wind-driven rain.

Make Your House or Business Look Occupied - An empty, unsecured property can be a tempting target for thieves and vandals. 

    * Put interior and exterior lights on timers and/or motion sensors. Set the timers on staggered hours to turn lights on and off at different times.
    * Make sure tapered deadbolt locks all installed and in use on entry doors. The taper makes it almost impossible to use a wrench or other tool to twist the lock open.
    * Suspend mail service and newspaper delivery.
    * Install a monitored security system. (Insurers often provide discounts for devices that make a home safer, so consider the financial benefit.)
    * Inform the local police department that your house will be empty.

Wild weather puts properties at increased risk of damage

Weather across the U.S. is a case of extremes right now and threats to properties remain high. Take control of your risk, regardless of what threats you may be facing.

In the west and parts of the south and east, including Florida and Texas, drought conditions and windy weather have elevated the threat of wildfires. While in parts of the Midwest and southeast, residents are dealing with swollen rivers and flooded communities. Communities along the east coast are once again digging out from a snowstorm. Another storm is expected to hit the east coast later this week.

Find resources to protect your property from flooding, freezing weather, wildfire and other natural hazards at DisasterSafety.org, where you can enter your ZIP Code and get a personalized list of risks that face the areas where you live and work.

Severe weather rips through nation's mid-section

Severe Awareness Week got off to an active start in many states Monday with storms damaging properties in Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri and Ohio with high winds, heavy rains and localized flooding.

Teams from the National Weather Service are investigating the aftermath of storms in several of these areas to see if tornadoes or straight-line winds were the cause of widespread property damage.

Tornadoes were reported in Missouri, where five people were killed during the severe weather. A rare winter tornado was confirmed in Fairfield County, Ohio, on Monday morning and left behind severe property damage.

As the spring approaches and storm season ramps up, take steps to prepare your home or business before severe weather threatens. When repairing storm damage, consider ways to strengthen the property against future storms. IBHS offers expert guidance for both of these approaches.

Visit www.DisasterSafety.org, where you can enter your ZIP Code to see what natural hazards you face and get property protection information to reduce the risk of damage.

Rare January tornado tears through south Texas

A weather system that dumped up to six inches of snow across Texas, including in Dallas, Tyler and Sulphur Springs, generated the first-ever January tornado in the southern part of the state, the National Weather Service reports.

The EF-0 tornado formed Sunday morning out of a storm system that produced winds nearing 70 mph in Alice, Texas, around 3:15 a.m. The tornado stayed on the ground for 21 miles and had a width of about 200 yards with maximum winds of about 100 mph. Properties and trees in Robstown sustained most of the damage from the storm. The system also produced damaging hail.

Property damage reports are still being compiled.

Find ways to keep your property safe from storm damage at www.DisasterSafety.org.

Disasters and losses reached new highs in 2010, new report reveals

Natural disasters worldwide cost insurers more in property losses in 2010, according to a new report.

The new analysis by Munich Re, a member of the Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS), reveals insurers paid $37 billion in claims, which exceeded the 10-year average of $35 billion. This pay out was also considerably higher than the $22 billion of losses in 2009.

The losses were fueled by the 950 natural catastrophes that occurred in 2010, which made the year one of the worst in the 30 years since record keeping began, and exceeded the annual average of 785 natural catastrophic events by 21 percent.

The greatest losses of life and property were the result of earthquakes in Haiti, Chile and Central China; a heat wave in Russia, and floods in Pakistan. Even though the fatalities were highest in Haiti, the insured losses were greatest in Chile with $30 billion in damage because most Haitian properties were not insured.

According to the report, global insurers had high levels of earthquake exposure in Chile because of the lower risks associated with the modern building codes that were adopted and enforced after other earthquakes in that country's history. These codes resulted in lower fatalities and reduced property damage overall.

In Pakistan, rainfall from monsoons between July and September resulted in $9.5 billion in insured damage.

The 2010 hurricane season spared the United States, despite having the highest number of storms recorded in the last 100 years. There were a total of 19 tropical cyclones during the year, making it the third highest in recorded history. Overall, the season was a quiet one for insurers. Still, the unusually high amount of tropical activity has insurers watching for what's next.

In a release, Munich Re’s Reinsurance CEO Torsten Jeworrek said, “2010 showed the major risks we have to cope with. There were a number of severe earthquakes. The hurricane season was also eventful – it was just fortunate that the tracks of most of the storms remained over the open sea. But things could have turned out very differently. The severe earthquakes and the hurricane season with so many storms demonstrate once again that there must be no slackening of our efforts to analyse these risks in detail and provide the necessary insurance covers at adequate prices. These prices calculated by the insurance industry make it possible to assess the economic consequences of these otherwise difficult-to-evaluate risks.”

Find effective ways to reduce the risk of your home or business being damaged by a natural disaster and maintenance information at www.DisasterSafety.org.

Tornado damage estimates emerge from Midwest storms

Damage estimates are coming in from several tornadoes that tore through parts of the Midwest during the New Year's weekend and killed seven people.

In St. Louis County, Mo., a total of 198 residential and commercial structures were damaged in Friday's storms. In metro St. Louis, a total of 32 residential and commercial buildings were damaged. Of those damaged, 12 were severe, including three buildings that collapsed. The twisters killed four people in Missouri and destroyed at least 50 homes and damaged 280 in other parts of the state.

In Mississippi, a total of 34 homes, five mobile homes, 40 businesses and 20 agricultural buildings have been destroyed or suffered major damage. Minor damage has been reported to 149 structures.

In Illinois, nearly two dozen homes were destroyed in the central part of the state.

In Arkansas, the tornadoes killed three and damaged 27 homes and six businesses.

When rebuilding or repairing roof damage, the Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) recommends strengthening the connections between the roof and walls, adding a secondary water barrier to keep out rain if the roof covering is lost in a future storm, and choosing a high-wind rated roof covering. For more information, visit www.DisasterSafety.org.

Natural disasters cost reinsurers $20 billion in 2010, report says

Earthquakes in Chile and New Zealand topped the list of costliest disasters for reinsurers in 2010, according to a new report.

The new report by Guy Carpenter & Company, an affiliate member of the Institute for Business & Home Safety, found the reinsurance industry paid $8 billion in losses associated with the Chilean earthquake, while the New Zealand earthquake carried a price tag of $4 billion in insured damage.

Of the eight natural catastrophes that individually caused insured losses of more than $1 billion, five were related to severe weather and storms in the United States, Australia and Europe, for a total loss of $7.9 billion, according to the report. The Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico was the only man-made event to result in insured losses of $1 billion or more in 2010 at approximately $3.5 billion.

Guy Carpenter also reports that reinsurance losses in the United States generally matched those of 2009, totalling $11.2 billion in the first nine months of 2010. This was a decline from the $25.2 billion paid by reinsurers in 2008, due mostly to losses from Hurricanes Gustav and Ike.

Limiting exposures to natural disasters such as hail, high winds, hurricanes, wind-driven water and wildfire is the goal of the new IBHS Research Center, of which Guy Carpenter is a founding member. Learn more about this unique, world-class facility.

Disaster-related insured losses continued climbing trend in 2010

Year end figures for insured catastrophe losses worldwide are emerging from leading firms, most recently including Aon Benfield and Swiss Re, which agree disaster-related losses are on the rise.

Aon Benfield, an affiliate member of the Institute for Business & Home Safety, reports in its "Annual Global Climate and Catastrophe Report" that "global natural catastrophic activity was far higher than in the previous three years, with 314 separate events." The report tallies overall economic losses at $252 billion and insured losses at $38 billion. This is an increase from 2009, when there were 222 events that resulted in $58 billion in economic losses and $20 billion insured losses.

Aon Benfield's tally is a slight increase from one recently released by Swiss Re, which put total economic losses at $222 billion and insured losses at $36 billion.

Regardless of the dollar figure, there is little doubt the costliest disaster of 2010 for insurers was the earthquake in Chile, which resulted in insured losses of $8.5 billion. In terms of economic losses, flooding in Pakistan topped the 2010 list of events with a price tag of more than $30 billion.

One effective way to reduce disaster-related insured and economic losses is to take a communitywide approach to mitigation. Through the new IBHS Research Center and its other options, IBHS is working to develop cost-effective retrofit options for existing properties, new construction solutions and to push for the adoption and enforcement of strong, modern building codes. These types of codes were credited for reducing insured losses in Chile, which adopted modern codes to reduce earthquake damage. Read more about IBHS public policy efforts.

Strengthen the roof when repairing storm damage in Oregon

At least 50 homes and businesses were damaged by the EF-2 tornado that struck Aumsville, Ore., on Tuesday, the National Weather Service reports.

The twister packed winds of 110 mph to 120 mph, the weather service reports. There were 79 reports of damage along the twister's path. Property loss estimates haven't been released, but cleanup began in earnest Wednesday.

"It was a pretty little powerful tornado, and only the fourth EF2 tornado we've ever documented in Oregon," said Tyree Wilde, warning coordination meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Portland. "That puts it in the top tier of tornadoes for Oregon and Washington."

When repairing roof damage, the Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) recommends strengthening the roof by renailing the decking using 8d ring shank nails, adding a secondary water barrier to keep water out during future storms and choosing high-wind rated roof coverings. Find out more ways to keep your property safe from storm damage with help from IBHS.

Rare tornado in Oregon damages properties

A rare tornado struck the small town of Aumsville, Ore., about 45 miles south of Portland, on Tuesday. The twister damaged several homes and businesses.

The tornado touched down at 11:45 a.m. local time Tuesday. It was the first to touch down in the state since Dec. 9, 2009, when a tornado hit Lincoln County near the coast, according to the National Weather Service. Eleven homes and three cars were damaged, but no one was hurt.

It was one of four Oregon tornadoes in the past decade, all causing only property damage, the weather service reports. Damage assessment teams from the weather service are in the area this week to measure the breadth of the storm and its wind speed.

The 1990s was an active period for tornadoes in Oregon when at least 16 tornadoes touched down. On April 5, 1972, a tornado that started in Portland crossed the Columbia River and killed six people, injured about 300 more and causing $3 million in damage in the Vancouver area.

When repairing storm damage, such as replacing a roof, consider ways to protect it from future storms, recommends the Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS). The IBHS FORTIFIED suite of programs offers guidance for making homes more disaster resistant through stronger new construction and by retrofitting existing properties when renovating or making repairs.

Learn more about FORTIFIED. See how well a FORTIFIED home stands up to high wind conditions in this fascinating IBHS video.