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The holidays are a time of joy, warmth, and fellowship. This should be a time for happy memories of friends and family. All too often in our rush to find presents, bake cookies, and host the perfect party, oversights are made. One of the leading causes of holiday tragedies is due to home fires that could have been prevented.

Disasters are all too common these days. From hurricanes to earthquakes and massive floods to house fires, disasters are usually the first thing we hear about on the evening news and the last thing we expect to happen to us. It is essential that every household creates emergency kits for their home and vehicles and make a plan about what steps to take incase a there is a disaster.

It’s summer and if you live in California, Oregon, or any other area of the country that is at high-risk for wildfire, it is essential that you know what you can do to protect your home and family from fire. High temperatures and dry conditions make living in or near woodland areas extremely dangerous during summer. There is no government agency, locally or at the federal level, that helps families protect their homes before a wildfire starts. However, there are a number of safety measures you can personally take to ensure your family and your personal property’s protection during these wild and unpredictable times.

Floods are one of most common natural disasters in the United States. Unfortunately, there is no set “flood season” as this varies from state-to-state and at different times of the year. However, a flood could occur anywhere, no matter how dry the ground is or how high up a property is located. If an area can receive rain, it has the potential to flood. When a building is vulnerable to flood damage, there are steps property owners can take to prepare for the worst.

Since the 1970’s, the number of big hurricanes has gone up by about 70%. In the last few years, it seems like the U.S. has not gotten a break from these tropical forces. Hurricanes Ike, Katrina, and Rita, to name just a few, have created millions of dollars in damages to our cities not to mention threatened and taken lives. We can’t change what those storms have done, but we can learn from the lessons they taught us.