FEMA community outreach and education specialist Richard Boswell, left, talks with Tim Hustad at the Home Depot in East Brainerd on Sunday about tips and techniques to prevent and lessen damage from future disasters.
Staff photo by John Rawlston/Chattanooga Times Free PressWIND-PROOF YOUR HOME• Reinforce house framing with steel brackets, straps, plates and other sturdy metal sturdy connectors.• Have proper roof-sheathing panels installed, using panels 4 feet long, 15/32-inch or thicker, and rated “Exposure 1” or better. Use secure fasteners to secure the sheathing to trusses.• Be sure composition shingles are held by at least six nails or staples atop a waterproof underlayment.• Consider building a freestanding “safe room” with walls, ceiling and doors that can withstand high wind pressure, in your basement, atop a concrete slab on-grade foundation or garage floor, or an interior room.For more information, visit www.fema.gov/rebuild/mitigation.shtm
No home is completely tornado-proof. But there are critical actions homeowners can take to help protect their homes from wind damage, FEMA experts say.
“The object of mitigation is to reduce the risk of hazard to families towards future disasters, as we help them overcome whatever they can during this disaster,” said Richard Boswell, a Federal Emergency Management Agency specialist who was manning an information booth in the Home Depot near Hamilton Place on Sunday.
Since the beginning of May, the federal agency has posted two teams of specialists in Home Depot, Lowe’s and True Value stores across the region for weeks at a time to advise homeowners on repairs and damage-prevention strategies.
On Sunday Boswell’s team counseled around 100 people, advising on everything from securing house frames with strong metal brackets, to the number of nails needed to attach properly a shingle (six) to using bleach and water to rid water-damaged rooms of mold.