When hurricanes Frances, Ivan, and Jeanne crossed the Carolinas over a three-week period in 2004, Amanda Bryant and her husband were new homeowners in Asheville, N.C. “It was my first time as a young adult homeowner and to experience flooding in a place we never thought would flood was hard. We weren’t in the flood plain. I didn’t even know what a flood plain was,” says Bryant, an Asheville native. The lesson for all homeowners is that regardless of where you live and what the climate risk is, you need a plan for how to prepare for a natural disaster.
The number and severity of weather- and climate-related disasters have steadily increased. In 2011, there were 18 such events costing more than a billion dollars in damage, and in 2023 there were 28, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. In many places, homeowners are surprised they can be affected by certain types of catastrophes. Take the Jennings Creek wildfires on the New Jersey-New York border, which burned over 5,000 acres in 2024. Wildfires in New Jersey?
“If we look at the weather-related perils, nobody in the United States is immune, whether it’s wildfires in the West [or] severe thunderstorms in the middle of the country that bring tornadoes, wind, and hail, but also floods,” says Ian Giammanco, managing director of standards and data analytics and lead research meteorologist for the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety. “Anywhere it rains it can flood. Everyone in the United States will have to deal with something.”
Yet, despite the numbers and the media coverage, homeowners aren’t preparing for natural disasters. The Bryants, who didn’t have flood insurance, were like most U.S. homeowners and renters. Even though flooding is the No. 1 peril, “only about 6% have a flood policy,” says Mark Friedlander, director of corporate communications for Insurance Information Institute (Triple-I), a research and education organization focused on helping consumers better understand insurance.
So, how can you keep yourself and your loved ones safe, maintain your property, and be financially prepared?
The Cost of Disasters: Home Value and Cost of Living
The Los Angeles wildfires dominated the news in early 2025. Before the smoke even cleared, Triple-I reported that estimated economic impacts of the damage were over $250 billion, with an estimated $20 billion to $40 billion in insured losses.
But the costs of climate-related disasters stretch beyond aftermath figures. “Things like heat, drought, and wildfire smoke end up impacting communities differently. They don’t damage homes, but they decrease quality of life. In some cases, they increase cost of living,” says Jeremy Porter, head of climate implications at First Street, which researches data for climate risk financial modeling.
In places where there has been economic investment, low crime, good schools, and job growth, “investment opportunities outweigh the climate exposure,” Porter says. But in “places where perhaps school quality isn’t as strong as it used to be or crime rates are increasing, climate becomes a push factor, and we see people leaving the area.”
Home values generally decrease after a climate-related disaster. Buyers may be drawn to the lower prices but are wary because they anticipate more risk and the challenges and cost to rebuild. Those who remain see their insurance rates rise, in addition to the burden of rebuilding. Homeowners used to their fixed rate mortgage and small increases in insurance “suddenly see this big spike in their cost of home ownership,” says Porter. “In places where we see increases in insurance [rates], we see decreases in sale value; there’s a direct relationship between the two,” he adds.
3 Ways to Prepare for Natural Disaster
You can prepare yourself and protect your home from extreme weather events through physical maintenance, insurance coverage, and financial readiness.
The Bryants recovered from their first experience with hurricane damage. They still live in Asheville but on higher ground. Yet when Hurricane Helene tore through the area in 2024, it hit their mountain neighborhood. “The flooding was significant in our area, but the tree damage was equally devastating,” Bryant says. They lost 22 trees on their one-acre lot. One tree fell on the back of the house, damaging the roof, porch, and foundation.
Disaster Preparation: Physical Maintenance
When the couple, who co-own a residential building company called Red Tree Builders, built their current home, they used best practices to prevent mudslides and basement flooding. “Even when you’re not near a major water source, it’s critical to manage moisture around your home,” Bryant says. They waterproofed foundation walls, used quality foundation fasteners to increase the integrity and strength of the walls, graded the land to slope away from the home, and installed a drainage system to divert rainwater.
Although they weren’t required to use hurricane strips on their roof, they were close to the elevation that required it. “Knowing we have higher winds, we fortified the roof with extra structural integrity, such as hurricane-rated roof clips and ties and a strong metal roof system. And we added oversized gutters, since older gutter systems can’t handle the increased rain.”
Disaster Preparation: Insurance
When it comes to flood coverage, your standard homeowners policy will typically cover nuisance flood (a burst pipe, a leaky dishwasher) but not weather- or climate-related flooding, Friedlander says. And “90% of all U.S. natural disasters involve flooding.” He points out that “severe convective storms, or thunderstorms, accounted for two-thirds of all catastrophic losses in 2023, more than $60 billion in insured loss.” For that reason, Triple-I recommends that even if you don’t live in a designated flood zone, you should consider flood insurance. Friedlander says the average cost of flood insurance in the U.S. in a nonflood zone is under $900 a year. It can cost five times as much in designated flood zones.
Insurance is helpful, but homeowners often set it and forget it. “What we see nationally is that after an event, people generally have about 80% of their rebuild costs covered by their policy,” Porter says. “And there is a spike in costs following severe weather disasters. For instance, the cost of gypsum board increased by about 13% following Hurricane Katrina.”
Construction materials and labor costs have increased by a cumulative 55% from 2019 to 2022 because of supply chain disruption, escalating costs of construction materials, and labor shortages, according to Triple-I’s analysis.
Disaster Preparation: Financial Planning and Savings
Revisit your insurance coverage annually to make sure it includes adequate replacement cost coverage, suggests Friedlander. “The last thing you need after suffering a huge loss from a catastrophic natural disaster is learning ‘my insurance wasn’t good enough.’’’
Bryant suggests putting money aside for worst-case scenarios. “There is not a program out there that makes you 100% whole once you account for the time and energy you will spend advocating for yourself. It’s a full-time job.”
Essential Preparation Steps for Natural Disasters
Every natural disaster is personal, and some places see more than one type of peril. But there are additional steps you can take to be prepared.
“Just in the first couple of days of disaster, you need to be able to be without power, without your cell phone and other essentials,” Bryant says. “You should be able to have nourishment and water to last at least a week or longer. If you’re in the thick of it and everything goes wrong, you want to be able to take care of yourself and your family. In some cases you should shelter in place; in others you will have to evacuate. Stay on top of alerts by checking with local authorities and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA.
Keep an emergency survival kit or bag ready to go. Bryant has a large plastic tote filled with water, instant coffee (because, priorities), a first aid kit, some nonperishable food, a crank operated Red Cross radio, silver foil blankets, and wet wipes. She also keeps a separate box of emergency supplies in her car. Have quick access to cash and documents such as birth certificates, passports, licenses, even family photos.
Here are steps specific to types of disaster:
Flood Disaster Preparation
Follow best practices by grading your landscape to direct water away from your home, Giammanco says. If you know your neighborhood is prone to flooding, install French drains around your house to keep water from your foundation. “If you’ve got a basement, make sure your sump pump is clean and in good working order,” he adds.
Wildfire Disaster Preparation
Particularly if you live in a wildfire prone area you should do the following:
- Create a five-foot perimeter of “defensible space” around your home. There should be nothing combustible, such as landscaping, in it. Clear vegetation and debris from the area around the house, including under a deck.
- Replace siding with noncombustible material like stucco or a cementitious product (made from substances with cement-like properties) such as Hardie Plank or GAF WeatherSide.
- Put mesh screens over your exterior vents. Wind-borne embers ignite an estimated 90% of homes. Invest in tempered glass windows, which shatter in place and at a higher temperature than other windows.
- Invest in a fire-resistant, Class A roof.
Hail Disaster Preparation
Particularly in the middle of the U.S., hail is a tremendous and costly natural disaster. “We’ve had over $10 billion of damage each year from hail for the last 15 years. In fact, we’ve seen nearly $40 billion in hail damage alone in 2023,” Giammanco says.
Most of the damage will occur on your roof, “and our most common roofing materials don’t withstand hail very well, especially as they age,” he explains. “Asphalt shingles are extremely susceptible to hail.” Your options include better- performing roof cover material such as metal, concrete, or clay tiles.
The Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety has a program known as FORTIFIED roof. Building codes across the nation now include many FORTIFIED elements regarding roofing material, sealing the seams in the decking under the roof and adding nailing on the roof deck. Many states require the FORTIFIED system and many even offer financial incentives. Some insurance companies offer discounts for homeowners who install the system.
Hurricane Disaster Preparation
You want to keep high wind out of your home. It can literally blow the roof off. Along with fortifying your roof, if you have an attached garage, install a door with a pressure rating of at least 130 miles per hour, Giammanco says.
Climate risk won’t improve any time soon. No matter where you live or what your area’s risk profile is, knowing how to prepare for a natural disaster and investing in preparation will give you a strong return: peace of mind and if disaster strikes, a better outcome for your home and family.