The First 72 Hours After a Hurricane: A Safety Sequence

The storm passing is not the end of the danger. Chainsaw injuries, falls from roofs, electrocution from downed lines, carbon monoxide poisoning, and heat illness all spike in the days after landfall. The recovery period kills and injures more people than the hurricane itself in many events. Working through it in a deliberate order keeps you out of that statistic.

Before you go outside

Make sure the storm has actually passed. If the wind drops suddenly and the sky clears, you may be in the eye. The calm can last from a few minutes to an hour, and the winds return from the opposite direction, often more violently. Stay inside until an official source says the system has cleared your area.

Check people first. Account for everyone in the household. Treat injuries. Then send one short text to your out-of-area contact — texts get through congested networks when voice calls do not.

Check for gas. If you smell gas or hear hissing, leave immediately, do not use switches or phones inside, and call the utility from a distance.

Hour 1-4: assess without creating new problems

• Wear real shoes. Sturdy closed boots, long pants, and work gloves. Nails, glass, and metal roofing debris are everywhere.
• Treat every downed line as energized. Stay at least 30 feet away, including from anything touching it — a fence, a puddle, a tree limb, a car. Report it to the utility.
• Do not enter standing water. It can hide energized lines, open manholes, sharp debris, sewage, chemicals, and displaced wildlife including snakes and fire ants. Six inches of moving water can knock an adult over.
• Inspect the structure from outside first. Look for shifted foundations, cracked or bulging walls, sagging roof lines, and leaning chimneys. If the structure looks compromised, do not go back inside.
• Do not climb on the roof. Falls from roofs are one of the leading post-storm injuries. Photograph the roof from the ground or with a drone and hire a professional for tarping if you are not experienced.

Hour 4-24: documentation and stabilization

1. Photograph everything before moving anything. Wide shots and close-ups, interior and exterior, from every angle. Include a date reference. This is the foundation of your insurance claim.
2. Call your insurer. Get a claim number on day one; adjuster queues grow fast after a major storm.
3. Make temporary repairs to prevent further damage — tarps, plywood over openings, moving furniture off wet carpet. Save receipts; policies both require mitigation and reimburse it.
4. Get water out. Every hour that standing water sits inside increases the eventual damage and the certainty of mold.
5. Assume a boil-water notice is in effect until your utility says otherwise.

Generators and carbon monoxide

This is the single most lethal post-storm hazard, and it is entirely preventable. Run generators outdoors only, at least 20 feet from the house, with the exhaust pointed away from all doors, windows, and vents — including your neighbors'. Never in a garage, carport, breezeway, shed, or covered porch. Have battery-powered CO alarms on every level. The same rule applies to grills, camp stoves, and any fuel-burning device.

Chainsaws and tree work

Storm-damaged trees are under tension in ways that are not obvious, and they release unpredictably when cut. If you are not trained and equipped, hire someone. If you are proceeding:

• Chaps, eye protection, hearing protection, gloves, and boots
• Never cut above shoulder height, on a ladder, or alone
• Never cut a tree touching a power line — call the utility
• Watch for spring poles and bent saplings under load
• Take breaks; heat exhaustion and fatigue cause most chainsaw injuries

Day 2-3: living conditions and health

• Heat. Without air conditioning, heat illness is a real risk, especially for older adults and small children. Hydrate constantly, add electrolytes, work in the early morning, rest during the afternoon, and go to a cooling center if one opens.
• Wounds. Clean every cut immediately and thoroughly. Floodwater bacteria cause serious infections quickly. Check that tetanus shots are current before the season.
• Food. Use the temperature rules — discard refrigerated food held above 40°F for over two hours. When in doubt, throw it out. Medical care may be hours away.
• Mosquitoes. Standing water breeds them within days. Drain containers, tires, and buckets, and use repellent.
• Sleep and mental load. Recovery is a marathon. Exhausted people make dangerous decisions with ladders and saws. Rest is a safety measure.

Scams and contractors

Fraud follows hurricanes reliably. Verify state licensing and insurance before hiring anyone. Never pay in full up front — a reasonable deposit is normal, full prepayment is not. Get everything in writing with a scope and price. Be extremely cautious with any document assigning your insurance benefits to a contractor. Be wary of unsolicited door-to-door offers, cash-only demands, and pressure to decide immediately.

Help that exists

If the president issues a major disaster declaration for your county, individual assistance may be available through FEMA at disasterassistance.gov. Register even if you have insurance; the programs cover different things. Keep every receipt and every piece of documentation, including your claim number and adjuster correspondence.

Local voluntary organizations, faith groups, and the American Red Cross provide meals, tarps, cleanup supplies, and debris removal, often faster than federal programs. Your county emergency management page is the best place to find what is actually operating near you.

Before the next storm, close the gaps you just discovered — start with the free preparedness checklist.