Virginia Homeowner’s Handbook for Natural Hazards

The Homeowner's Handbook introduces Virginia homeowners to natural hazards and provides information needed to prepare for these events. The handbook describes hazards such as hurricanes, nor'easters, floods, and tornadoes, and includes information that will allow homeowners to protect themselves, their families, and their property through the preparation, mitigation, evacuation, insurance, and recovery processes.

Introduction

Your home protects you and your family, as well as your possessions, from the elements. Yet natural hazards such as coastal storms, floods, high winds, and tornadoes can threaten the inhabitants and contents of your home. This handbook was created to help you prepare for natural hazards so that risks to family and property may be reduced.

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Natural Hazards

This handbook concentrates on the most likely and potentially devastating hazards in Virginia with regard to loss of life and property damage: coastal storms, floods, and tornadoes.

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Protect Yourself and Your Family

It is important that your household has a stock of emergency supplies, an evacuation kit, and evacuation plans for several types of hazards, including floods, coastal storms and severe wind events such as tornadoes.

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Protect Your Property

By strengthening your house, you can reduce the risk of damage to your home and possibly reduce insurance premiums.

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Insurance

Unfortunately, many homeowners do not find out until it is too late that their insurance policies do not cover flooding.

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Coastal Construction and Beach Management

Most properties along the oceanfront, inland bays, marshes, and tidal rivers are vulnerable to coastal hazards such as storms, erosion, sea-level rise, and flooding.

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Climate Change

Climate change effects in Virginia will likely include more extreme weather events (e.g., more droughts, more intense rainfall, and more intense storms and flooding), sea-level rise, and warmer temperatures.

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