What to Do If Window Breaks During Hurricane? (Avoiding Guides)

Is a hurricane coming your way? The first thing you should do is listen to the authorities. Make sure you check and follow any evacuation orders. Residents of low-lying areas are typically the first ones to be asked to depart their homes. Leave now if you have been given such instructions.

However, if you aren’t told to leave, make contingency plans. Do you have enough food to ride out the hurricane? Is there enough water to last days? And, suiting the context of this article, what to do if window breaks during hurricane? It is on the last count that we can help you out.

What to do if window breaks during hurricane?

Here’s what you can do to ensure the safety of yourself and your loved ones in the event of a window breaking down in the middle of a hurricane:

Move your family to another room

One of the stupidest things you could do in the middle of a storm is moving your family out of the home. Sure, you’re worried after seeing shuttered glass everywhere, but if you can stay in a little longer, you and your loved ones will be better off. Downed power lines, flying debris, and fallen trees can be dangerous if you stumble onto them.

The safest thing you could do, then, is to move into a room with few or no windows. Get to that room as soon as possible and shut the door. Make sure that you have a fully charged battery in your hand as you enter that room.

Make a quick fix

Provided the ‘eye’ of the storm is over or the winds have died down for a bit, you can try making a quick fix for the broken window. For instance, you could seal the window opening by stapling a flat piece of cardboard over it. This won’t be a long-term solution, but it might prevent the upcoming winds from entering your home and smashing the glass pieces everywhere.

As you enter into the room with a broken window, turn on the torch. There will be shattered glass pieces everywhere. Be careful or you might end up cutting yourself. If the winds pick up again, don’t try to finish the job and get back to the safe place as early as possible.

Ride out the storm

The best thing you could do during a storm is doing nothing. Hurricanes are a vicious beast, and you better not tempt your fate by trying to fix things as the winds are blazing around at three hundred miles per hour. The situation will be more dangerous in the room with broken glass as nothing would be standing in the way between yourself and pieces of debris flying around outside.

For this reason, try not to worry too much about the broken window. Wait until the storm is over and then take pictures of the damaged goods for the insurance company. You can also get in touch with a window repair company to repair the glass.

How to prep windows for hurricane

Provided the abovementioned scenario is too scary for you even to imagine, follow these tips to prep your windows for a hurricane.

1. Install hurricane-resistant glass windows

Also known as impact-resistant windows, they are tested by the American Architectural Manufacturers Association (AAMA) and North American Fenestration Standard (NAFS) for missile projectiles.

To get both these certifications, these windows undergo two tests. The first test checks their sturdiness by shooting at least ten projectiles out of a cannon. The second test, meanwhile, blows varying degrees of pressure on the glass using a machine. Only then are they declared hurricane- and storm-resistant.

2. Board up your windows

One of the most important steps you could take to ensure your safety is to use plywood to board up your windows before the hurricane. The Federal Alliance for Safe Homes (FLASH) recommends that the thickness of the plywood should at least be 5/8 inches.

Provided you have the tools at home, you can cut the wood yourself, or you can take it to the store. Also, if you’re selecting the plywood that previously lay unused in your attic or garage, make sure it isn’t warped. You must screw or bolt it onto the road-facing side of the window.

What to avoid before the hurricane?

Here are the things that you shouldn’t do as they won’t have any effect on the sturdiness of your windows during a hurricane:

1. Don’t shut the windows with tape

In contrast to what most people believe, running the tape over windows isn’t going to make them stronger in the face of heavy winds. Instead, if the winds flying around are strong enough to pummel them and break them down, the resulting pieces of glass will be larger and more deadly.

That’s why you shouldn’t tape your windows before a hurricane. Even if they do break down during the storm, untapped windows will shatter into innumerable tiny pieces. Sure, that sounds bad, but a million tiny pieces won’t do as much harm as one, big shard.

2. Don’t crack open the windows

Some of you might think that it’s an ingenious idea to crack open the windows. You might think that it will help relieve the pressure that will build inside your home during a hurricane, thereby preventing your humble abode from exploding from within. Except that it’s a myth.

All of our homes have tiny openings that would provide the necessary outlet for the pressure that may build during a hurricane. Also, if you’re planning to crack open the window, have you thought what would happen when the entered wind tries to escape? Hint: it won’t be a scenario that you’d appreciate.

Conclusion

Hurricanes are never to be taken lightly. You should take all the precautions listed in this article if you want to increase the safety level of you and your loved ones during and after the storm.

Don’t waste your time on the myths – two of which we have stated above. They won’t help you and take your mind away from doing things that you should do and that could actually help you during a hurricane.

Provided you have any questions, please feel free to get in touch.