How to Keep Your Home Safe During Heavy Rainfall

You prepare for wildfires, earthquakes and outages but are you prepared for heavy rainfall and strong winds?

Heavy rainfall and strong winds can cause damage to your home and community. Read and share these tips below to keep you and your family safe.

Keeping your home safe during heavy rainfall

House with an umbrella over it

We prepare our homes every season for fires, earthquakes and outages, but thousands of homes are also damaged each year by heavy rainfall and strong winds. 

Here are some important steps you can take to keep your home and your family safe. 

Start with your roof!

  • Stop leaks and look for ways to seal your home.
  • Consider having your roof inspected before winter weather could cause damage.
  • Caulk windows and doors and ensure that they have weather stripping installed.
  • Ensure chimneys are hooded properly and are inspected for cracks.
  • Clean gutters and rid them of leaves and other types of debris that can cause water to overflow.

Look around your home for potential hazards or problems: 

  • Cut or trim low-hanging tree limbs that pose the danger of falling during rain and wind storms. 
  • Inspect your property to spot areas that can lead to a drainage problem. 
  • Secure outside furniture, garbage cans and any other property that can move during strong winds. 
  • Should a power line go down because of rain or heavy wind, do not touch it and keep members of your household as far away from it as possible. Once you are in a safe location, dial 911 and then call PG&E at 1-800-743-5000 to report the downed line. 
  • Heavy rains can cause mudslides which happen when water saturates the ground and creates a channel-like river of mud and debris. Know your area's risk for mudslides and should one occur, stay away from that location as more can follow. 

Be prepared should there be an emergency like a flood!

  • Stock an emergency kit with non-perishable items like food, water, flashlights, batteries and important medicine. 
  • Practice an evacuation plan and immediately evacuate if told to do so. 
  • Prepare for power outages by charging cell phones and laptops. Should an outage occur, use flashlights instead of candles.
  • Consider buying sandbags to create a barrier to guard your home to prepare for a flood or storm.

To learn more ways to prepare your home for winter rainstorms, visit Redcross.org/flood.

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