Your life can change in the blink of an eye.
Among the many things you know you’re supposed to do – write a will, understand your taxes, finally master Monday mornings – hardening your home against natural disasters may be one of the more distasteful parts of adulting.
There’s nothing fun about the worst-case scenarios like floods, fires, damaged property, injured or displaced family members. There’s also the question of how much money you want to spend to prepare for something that might never happen – an especially easy trap to fall into if you’ve never lived through a natural disaster.
“People still have a confidence bias. They think, ‘I see that happening in Hawaii or Colorado or Florida, but it’s not going to happen to me,’” said Leslie Chapman-Henderson, the president and CEO of the Federal Alliance for Safe Homes, or FLASH, a nonprofit consumer advocacy group focused on fortifying homes against disasters.
For decades, there has been an emphasis on the importance (and value) that garage doors
have on a home’s curb appeal. Now, based on new research, it’s time to recognize garage
doors’ “storm appeal.”
On Jan. 21, 2025, President and CEO of the Federal Alliance for Safe Homes (FLASH)
Leslie Chapman-Henderson provided DASMA Annual Meeting attendees with an eye-opening
presentation, saying, “A storm-ready garage door is your best and strongest defense.”
Her keynote address, “Garage doors on the rise: How the policy, marketplace, and technical
landscape are redefining their critical role in resilience,” highlighted the increasing awareness
of how garage door perfo
With the 2025 destructive spring tornado season underway, and Hurricane Season approaching the Federal Alliance for Safe Homes (FLASH)® is offering the Strong Homes Scale (Scale), a groundbreaking new tool designed to help homeowners assess their home’s ability to withstand six natural disasters.
On March 25, 2025 the Federal Alliance for Safe Homes (FLASH)® launched Strong Homes Scale (Scale), a groundbreaking new tool designed to help homeowners assess their home’s ability to withstand six natural disasters, including earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, wildfires, and winter storms. The Scale and new tools are part of the enhanced InspectToProtect.org platform that empowers users with information to answer the questions, “How will my home hold up in a disaster?” and “How can I make it stronger?”
Anyone who’s ever scrambled to safety in the face of an approaching tornado or watched as straight-line winds propelled deadly debris into a home undoubtedly has an undying respect for what winds can do — or undo.
And while truly tornado-proofing a residence isn’t feasible, meteorological, emergency management, construction and insurance industry experts say homeowners can take some simple steps to make sure Mother Nature doesn’t huff and puff and blow your house down — steps that don’t have to break the bank.
On February 5, the Federal Alliance for Safe Homes (FLASH) recognized former National Hurricane Center Director Bill Read as the 2025 National Weatherperson of the Year. This prestigious annual award honors weather professionals who demonstrate exceptional leadership in promoting disaster safety and resilience.
Hurricane Milton was barreling toward William Fulford’s front door. The mayor of nearby Tampa, Florida, was pleading on television for area residents to leave or die. Still, Fulford, a 76-year-old retired homebuilder, was staying put.
FLASH announced the expansion of the Strong Homes Fund to help low-income families rebuild safer, stronger, and more resilient homes in the wake of Hurricanes Helene and Milton. The fund provides essential resources to support disaster recovery by rebuilding homes to meet the FORTIFIED Gold standard for hurricane and high-wind events and elevation requirements in flood-prone areas.
After a hurricane or tropical storm moves on, the danger of personal injury remains. Below is a list of things you should keep in mind if you are in areas that have been hit hard by a tropical storm.
Garage doors are vulnerable during storms because they are your home’s largest and weakest openings. A single-car garage door can usually resist wind forces better than two-car garage doors. The same goes for doors without glass or glazing unless the glass is impact-resistant. However, reinforcing your door or having a wind-rated garage door can protect your home from pressurization damage.
With storm season upon us, homeowners in hurricane-prone areas are looking for ways to better protect their homes from high winds and other storm-related damages. And for good reason, as 2023 had more billion-dollar weather and climate disasters, like tornadoes and tropical storms, than ever before.
Homeowners can take steps to prepare their homes against hurricane damage, yet many still need to do so, a recent survey said.
Warmer ocean temperature combined with likely La Niña conditions have created the perfect storm for an increased chance of named storms in the Atlantic this year. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Hurricane Center predicts an above-normal hurricane season and urges homeowners in high-risk regions to take early precautions.
As residents prepare for the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season, which begins on June 1, a new study suggests that homeowners should particularly play close attention to protecting their garages.
The Federal Alliance for Safe Homes (FLASH) annual Is America HurricaneStrong? survey tracks past and future consumer preparedness actions and levels of understanding regarding safety, home protection, building codes, and insurance. The 2024 findings identified a significant knowledge gap in awareness of the relationship between strong garage doors and home damage, specifically roofs and adjacent walls.