- 26 January 2025
- Posted by: Castleacre
In January Ireland and the United Kingdom faced one of the strongest winter storms on record, Storm Eowyn. As destructive and damaging weather events increase in frequency and intensity what practical steps can you take to protect yourself and your home?
Climate change experts predict an increase in the frequency of extreme weather events in the long term. Storm damage is unpredictable and often difficult to prevent but maintaining your property can help you limit the impact.
When the Met Office issues Red Weather Warnings protect yourself in the first instance
- Avoid travelling if at all possible. If you do have to drive anywhere, ensure your tyres are in good condition and correctly inflated, and have an emergency kit in the car and a fully charged phone.
- At home be well prepared for power cuts and make sure any essential equipment such as phones are fully charged and that you have safe alternative forms of heating or lighting and basic supplies in case roads are blocked or flooded.
Mitigating Storm Damage
- Guttering should be leaf and debris-free, particularly in the autumn and winter; in advance of a storm, and only if it is safe to do so check roof tiles and chimneys from ground level and look internally at the roof to make sure timber is rot and vermin-free; don’t forget to inspect drainage at ground level and window frames and latches.
- It is advisable to maintain outbuildings and garden structures, greenhouses, walls and fences in the same way you check your main home. If a major storm is forecast it is also advisable to secure or put away garden furniture and trampolines which can be dangerous in high winds and move cars and boats away from large trees.
- If you are in a flood-prone area ensure you have sandbags and other flood measures in place as early as possible.
- You should avoid all large trees during a storm but either before or after a storm it is worth making regular inspections of trees within your property and on the boundary. You should check for disease and damage to larger branches and it is worth contacting a tree specialist if you have any concerns; in an ideal world large trees that are too close to your house should be removed but this isn’t always possible if a preservation order is in place. Power lines and oil tanks are suspectable too damage from falling branches and trees.
