Monday Market Update: Preparing For El Nino

Happy Fall! As we enjoy the change in seasons and countdown until winter, you are likely hearing that El Nino is on the way. This warm water weather pattern in the Pacific Ocean changes winds high in the sky and pushes more storms to California. While no one can predict the exact impacts in exact areas, experts do know that El Nino increases the chances of heavy rain, snow and flooding – as well as the associated power outages and road closures. 

While we never plan to create fear, we do hope to encourage some planning and strategy to protect yourself and your home in case weather patterns this year are more intense than usual. Here are 6 tips to help you get rain ready! 

#1: Assess your current emergency readiness! Knowing where you are at is the best way to determine how much you need to do to get disaster ready. Take this test from the United Way, inventory your current supplies and think about the last time you and your family sat down to make a plan. 

#2: Make sure you are signed up for emergency alerts in your community. Be sure to sign-up to receive notifications from the counties where you live and work in. Cal OES offers a page with links to all county alert systems. 

#3: Create your household emergency plan. Getting all family members on the same page is hard on a good day – but critical in an emergency! Sit down with loved ones and discuss where emergency supplies are, how to best communicate in an emergency and to plan evacuation routes within the home and neighborhood. 

#4: Prepare an emergency kit with 3-days minimum of supplies. It should include food, water, medications, pet needs and important documents. Get ideas from Ready.gov and the American Red Cross. 

#5: Review your coverage with your insurance agent. You should know if you are in a flood zone (or how close you are to one), what coverage you have, and be sure your dwelling coverage limit is up to date (this often fails to keep up with inflation & modern building costs). 

#6: Prepare your property before a major rain. Clear gutters and drains, eliminate areas where standing water can pool, ensure windows and roofing is leak proof, pick-up free sandbags from local agencies and trim branches/trees that could damage power lines or your dwelling during a storm. 

Last but not list – check in with one another! Ask your neighbors if they are El Nino ready, be sure to share emergency alert information with neighbors who may not have text access and show consideration for neighbors on a daily basis – don’t wait until disaster strikes! Disaster planning takes time and energy – and so does building community relationships.

May we do both with great intention this season!

Bobbi 

Bobbi Decker
DRE#00607999

Broker Associate, Bobbi Decker & Associates
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www.bobbidecker.com
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