This year marks the five-year anniversary of Hurricane Ike. Since then, many homeowners are saying they've made adjustments to the way they prepare for hurricane season.
"I came home to, I think around 48, 50 inches of water in the lower level of my house," homeowner Dayna Steele said.
Steele says her home flooded during Hurricane Ike. So she made changes for when the next storm comes.
"Electronics have to be brought up. Those are not covered by flood insurance anymore," Steele said.
When it comes to electricity?
"After living without power for four weeks, the generator is my friend," Steele said. "We run it probably every three to four months. We run it, we make sure the fuel is not old."
It's a great reminder for those who purchased generators after Ike, and have let them sit for years now.
When it comes to insurance?
"Windstorm insurance is for wind-driven rain that's usually from hurricanes, tornadoes," said Theo Franklin with State Farm insurance.
Franklin says it's important to make sure you have the right protection. But how much coverage is right for you?
"It depends on how much property you have, how much building coverage you want to have on your home, how much you want to take on yourself, how much you want the insurance company to take on for you," Franklin said.
Franklin says this is the time of year to review your policies and deductibles, to make sure you're adequately covered.
"At the end of the day, you don't want to find out later that something is not covered that you thought was covered," he said.
Franklin tells us it's a good idea to create a home inventory, so you can see what you own, and know the value of your possessions.
As for Steele and her preparations...
"We checked all the supplies. We replaced all the batteries with fresh batteries in the emergency kit," Steele said.
Now it's important to understand, if you don't have a flood insurance policy in place now, but are thinking of getting one, there's a 30-day waiting period for it kick in. So now's the best time to get that in order, before the tropics become active.
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