4 Tips to Get Your Home Ready for a Busy Hurricane Season in Hawai‘i

There are things you can do now to secure your house in the likely event of high winds this summer and fall.

By Rachel Ross Bradley

The Central Pacific Hurricane Center says that we should expect this hurricane season, typically June through November, to have above-normal activity. It’s smart to have a hurricane kit, with items such as flashlights and a radio, but there are other things we can do in Hawai‘i to protect our homes in the event we get hit with a big one. Here are four tips to prevent damage:

1. Clip ’Em

Hurricane clips, also called hurricane ties, secure roofs and decks to framing to help fight upward forces of high winds. They don’t look like ties or clips—they’re metal pieces that are screwed into both the roof truss and house frame for added security.

Photo: Steven Frame

2. Unbreakable

Consider adding storm windows, or impact-resistant windows, next time you remodel your home or if you’re buying new. Storm windows have a panel of shatter-proof material between the two panes of glass. If something hits the window, the glass will crack but the window will not break or allow the wind to come into the house.

SEE ALSO: 9 Tips to Prepare for a Disaster

3. Don’t Be Shutter-Shy

In places like the Bahamas, homeowners install storm shutters when building their homes. Instead of temporarily boarding up a house with plywood, like many of us did during Hurricane Lane last year, install storm shutters, which you can roll down to cover all the windows and then roll up once the winds have passed.

4. Double Down

Consider impact-resistant, reinforced garage doors. Most garage doors are light to keep cost down, but CNN reports that 80% of hurricane damage to a home happens after wind rips off a garage door, leaving the house vulnerable. Wind ripping through a house gets under the roof and can reach you and your loved ones hunkering down inside—and all your loose belongings.