Florida Hurricane Prep: A Homeowner's Before, During & After Checklist

If you live in Central Florida long enough, a storm is coming — that's just the deal. The folks who come through it okay aren't lucky, they're ready. Here's the straight-up checklist: what to do before, during, and after.

Before the storm

The week (and the 48 hours) before landfall is when you actually make a difference:

1. Clear your yard. Loose branches, furniture, grills, and yard debris become projectiles in a hurricane. Bring it in or tie it down.
2. Trim what you can — and haul it now. Dead limbs and overgrowth come down in high wind. Cutting them before the storm means less flying through your windows.
3. Stock the basics. Water (a gallon per person per day, 3+ days), non-perishable food, meds, batteries, flashlights, a charged power bank.
4. Photograph your property. Walk the house and yard with your phone and take pictures. If you have to file a claim later, “before” photos are gold.
5. Know your debris plan. Have a number ready for cleanup so you’re not scrambling after — more on that below.

The stuff people forget until it’s too late

• Fill the gas tanks — both the cars and the generator cans — before the run starts. Stations run dry fast, and after the power goes out the pumps don’t work anyway.
• Cash. Card readers need power and internet. A hundred bucks in small bills covers a lot of gaps.
• Refill prescriptions early if you’re inside a week of running out.
• Photograph your documents — policy pages, deed, IDs — and email them to yourself. Paper gets wet.
• Freeze water bottles. They keep the freezer cold longer and become drinking water later.
• Know where your water shutoff and breaker box are, and make sure someone else in the house does too.
• Charge everything, including the power tool batteries. A cordless reciprocating saw is genuinely useful the morning after.

Inland Central Florida gets a false sense of security about storms. We’re not getting the surge Tampa gets, but wind and water damage this far inland is real, and the tree canopy around Ocala and Marion County means downed limbs are the most likely thing you’ll be dealing with.

During the storm

Short and simple: stay inside, stay away from windows, and don’t go out to “check on things.” Most storm injuries happen before and after — not during. Let it pass.

If the eye passes over, the calm is temporary and the wind comes back from the opposite direction. That reversal is what finishes off trees and fences already loosened by the first half. Stay put until it’s actually over, not until it merely sounds over.

After the storm: the cleanup

This is where it gets real. Once it’s safe to go outside:

1. Safety first. Watch for downed power lines, hanging limbs, and standing water. Assume every wire is live.
2. Document everything. Before you move a single branch, photograph the damage — the tree on the fence, the limb on the roof, the debris field. Your insurance company will want it.
3. Separate the debris. Vegetative (trees, limbs, brush) usually gets handled differently than structural debris (shingles, fence, drywall). Keeping piles separate speeds everything up.
4. Call for cleanup. Downed trees and big debris aren’t a one-person job. This is exactly what we do — cut, clear, and haul, with the chainsaws, the skid-steer, and our own dumpsters.

The dangerous part is the cleanup, not the storm

Chainsaw injuries, falls from ladders, and heat exhaustion are what actually send people to the ER after a hurricane. A few honest rules:

• Don’t touch anything resting on a power line. Not the limb, not the fence, not the tree. That’s the utility’s job.
• Leave hanging limbs and trees on structures to a crew. A limb under tension doesn’t fall where you expect, and a tree on a roof can shift the moment you cut it.
• Never run a generator in a garage or near windows — even with the door open. Carbon monoxide kills people every single storm season.
• Pace yourself. It’s Florida, it’s hot, the power is out, and there’s no air conditioning waiting for you inside. Drink more water than you think you need.

Vegetative vs. structural debris

Keep these piles separate from the start, because they’re handled and often billed differently:

• Vegetative — limbs, brush, trunks, palm fronds, yard waste.
• Structural — shingles, fence panels, siding, drywall, insulation, damaged furniture.

Structural debris is also where prohibited items sneak in. Damaged fridges and freezers contain freon, and a flooded garage produces exactly the paint, fuel, and chemical containers that can’t go in a can. What can and can’t go in a roll-off has the full list and where each one goes instead.

If you’re clearing more than a couple of trees, or gutting water-damaged drywall and flooring, a roll-off on site usually beats repeat haul trips — our dumpster sizes and flat rates walk through which one fits the job.

The move that saves you days: get on the list before

After a big storm, every cleanup crew in the county is slammed. The homeowners who get cleared first are the ones who reached out before the storm hit.

Common questions

When should I start preparing for a hurricane in Central Florida? Yard trimming and debris haul-off should happen at the start of the season, not when a storm is named. Once a cone points at Florida, crews book out and stores sell out within a day or two.

What do I do with hurricane debris after the storm? Separate vegetative debris (limbs, brush) from structural debris (shingles, fence, drywall) and photograph everything before you move it. Municipal storm pickup can take weeks after a major storm, so a roll-off or a haul-out crew is usually the faster path.

Does insurance cover storm debris cleanup? It depends on your policy and whether the debris damaged a covered structure. Photograph everything before and after, and keep an itemized invoice — we provide both so you have documentation for the claim.

Is it safe to remove a tree that fell on my house? No. A tree resting on a structure is under tension and can shift when cut. That’s a job for a crew with the right equipment, and anything touching a power line is strictly the utility’s call.

How long does storm debris pickup take? Municipal pickup after a significant storm often runs weeks, prioritized by road access. Private cleanup is faster, and being on a priority list before the storm is what determines whether you’re an early call or a late one.

Can I put storm debris in a regular dumpster? Yes — brush, limbs, fence panels, and damaged building materials all go in a roll-off. The exceptions are the usual ones: no freon appliances, fuel, paint, or chemicals.

Storm season’s coming either way. Get on our priority list and cross “what about the cleanup?” off your worry list.