We do our best to keep our homes and families safe but it’s not always so easy. Sometimes it is. Sometimes the world listens to what we want, it responds to us and our vibes can resonate for a bit with our peaceful surroundings. But that’s not always the case, unfortunately. As much as we all wish it was, our surroundings don’t always obey us. They don’t always listen to us, it’s true, and when things get chaotic around us we don’t always know what to do. In fact, many times and hard as we try, the world around us can get really out of control and it can be downright scary when it does. Take earthquakes, for instance. Earthquakes are very complicated and nuanced things but the one thing that we have learned from earthquakes is that the world can be utterly unpredictable sometimes. Many people who have been through an earthquake, or several earthquakes, say that one of the scariest things about them is how sudden and unpredictable they are. Something that was supposed to be solid, one of the only things that is supposed to be solid and stay solid, the earth underneath our feet, suddenly turns into jello and everything goes awry. When it’s all over, things are left in a jumble, power lines are knocked down, everyone who was in the vicinity is shown, for better or worse, that there are far more powerful things at work in the world than human agency. Sometimes. It’s a humbling problem, to be sure, and a scary one but that doesn’t mean you can’t prepare for it correctly. The same could be said of different storms as well or landslides or any other natural disasters. Whenever these natural disasters come knocking, it’s easy to freeze up and not know what to do. It’s the hardest thing in the world to act when things are falling apart and it feels like you have to face down something huge all by yourself. It’s tiring and exhausting and scary but you can do it as long as you take everything one step at a time and don’t think too hard about everything altogether.
Protecting Your Home
Let’s start with hurricane prep and the idea of hurricane ready homes, new construction and home renovations. Now if you are a home designer, a home owner, a home designer and a home owner or anywhere in between, you’ll know it is important to try and take care of your home before disaster hits. As a home designer, you will already be aware of some of the initial precautions people take to disaster proof their homes. Maybe you’ve taken similar precautions yourself in a lot of ways. Maybe you’ve stocked up on water just in case or canned food or blankets. Maybe you have a panic room in your hallway closet just in case you need it. Perhaps you have a weapon safely stored in your home or perhaps you just have a small easy to use generator in case you need it. Whatever decisions you’ve made as a home designer, you are already half prepared for anything and you know you have some of what you need. But you can always do more to prepare, too. You can always stock up on a few more things or make a few more changes to your home just for added safety. For example, as a home designer or a home owner you might want to reinforce your walls with extra strength beams or timbers. This will keep the foundation of your home strong even in the face of incredibly high winds. You might also want to think about renovating your basement, if you have a basement, so it doesn’t flood. In low lying areas where no one has basements, it’s worth it to inspect the foundation of your home to make sure it won’t be weak if the surrounding landscape floods. There are little things you can do and then there are larger, macro things you can to do make sure that your home is well taken care of and that is not susceptible to the outside elements. These steps are critically important for protection.
