Hurricane season runs June 1 through November 30. This is the authoritative guide for homeowners in our 15-state service area: how to prepare, how to stay safe during the storm, and how to navigate water damage, insurance, and contractor selection in the aftermath.
Hurricane season officially runs June 1 through November 30. Our 15-state service territory encompasses some of the highest hurricane-exposure geography in the United States — and every state in our network has experienced direct or significant tropical storm impacts in the past 20 years. This is not a risk that affects only coastal homeowners.
Florida carries the highest overall hurricane exposure in the United States. More named storms have made landfall in or come within 50 miles of Florida than any other state in recorded history. The state's geography — a peninsula exposed to both the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic — means there is no protected side. Hurricane season effectively runs year-round in South Florida, with activity possible from June through late December in warm Atlantic years.
Louisiana has experienced the most economically damaging hurricane impacts in US history. Hurricane Katrina in 2005 caused an estimated $125 billion in damage and displaced more than one million people. Hurricane Ida in 2021 caused $75 billion in damage and affected the state from the Gulf Coast inland through metropolitan New Orleans. Louisiana's low elevation, extensive bayou geography, and position at the mouth of the Mississippi River create compounding flood risk beyond what storm surge maps alone convey.
Alabama and Mississippi share Gulf Coast exposure and have sustained direct major hurricane impacts in living memory — Hurricane Katrina's landfall near Waveland, Mississippi in 2005 caused catastrophic damage across both states. Hurricane Sally made direct landfall in Alabama in 2020, causing significant flooding across Baldwin County and the Mobile metro area.
The Atlantic Coast states — Georgia, North and South Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, and Connecticut — are not immune. Hurricane Matthew in 2016 caused devastating flooding in the Carolinas with damages exceeding $4 billion. Hurricane Florence in 2018 stalled over North Carolina and produced catastrophic inland flooding affecting nearly every county. Hurricane Dorian in 2019 made US landfall in the Outer Banks. Hurricane Ida's remnants in 2021 struck New Jersey and New York as an extratropical storm with damaging tornadoes and flooding that caused deaths in basement apartments. Even inland Tennessee and Kentucky experience severe flooding from tropical remnants — the Nashville flood of 2010 and the Eastern Kentucky catastrophic flooding of 2022 both drew significant tropical moisture from the Gulf.
Hurricane events produce three distinct types of water damage that require fundamentally different response protocols and are covered differently by insurance. Knowing which type of damage you have is the single most important factor in understanding your coverage and your cleanup requirements.
When hurricane winds damage the building envelope — lifting roofing materials, breaking windows, compromising siding — rain enters the structure through the resulting openings. This is wind-driven rain infiltration. It is classified as IICRC Category 1 water (clean water from a potable source), assuming the water has not contacted contaminated surfaces. Wind-driven rain damage is typically covered under a standard homeowners insurance policy when a covered windstorm event caused the opening through which water entered. The key evidentiary requirement is documenting the storm-caused opening — photographs of the damaged roof, broken window, or compromised siding that allowed water entry are essential to the claim.
Rainfall from hurricane events saturates the ground, exceeds stormwater drainage capacity, and causes rivers, streams, and retention areas to overflow. The resulting surface flooding of homes — water entering from outside at ground level through doors, windows, foundation, or crawl space — is classified as flood damage under insurance definitions. This requires a separate NFIP flood insurance policy. Standard homeowners insurance explicitly excludes flooding from surface water, regardless of the cause. This is the distinction that catches many homeowners off guard after hurricane events: the wind damage is covered; the flood damage from the same storm is not covered without a flood policy. Flood cleanup from inland flooding involves Category 2-3 water depending on the water source and what it contacted before entering the home.
Storm surge is the most destructive and most dangerous water damage mechanism associated with hurricanes. It is the rise of ocean water above normal tide levels, driven by hurricane winds pushing ocean water inland. Storm surge heights of 15-20 feet or more have been recorded in major Gulf Coast hurricane events. Storm surge water is saltwater, heavily contaminated with sewage, marine debris, chemicals, and pathogens — it is classified as IICRC Category 3 water (grossly contaminated). All porous materials contacted by storm surge must be treated as biohazardous — they cannot be cleaned and reused. Storm surge, like inland flooding, requires NFIP flood insurance coverage, not standard homeowners. See our understanding of water damage vs flood damage insurance for a complete breakdown of these coverage distinctions.
The most important hurricane season preparation window is April and May — before the June 1 season start, before contractor demand surges, and before the NFIP flood insurance 30-day waiting period becomes a problem. If you purchase or renew a flood insurance policy in May, it is in force by June 1. If you wait until the first hurricane watch is issued in your county, you cannot buy coverage that will apply to that storm.
Complete these steps in April or May:
A water damage kit — separate from a general hurricane preparedness kit — contains the supplies needed to begin immediate damage assessment and documentation after the storm passes. Store it in a waterproof container above expected maximum water level in your home.
Physical supplies: Wet/dry vacuum for minor water removal before professionals arrive; submersible pump if you have a basement; heavy contractor-grade garbage bags for wet material containment; N95 respirators (at minimum — Category 3 contamination requires higher protection); nitrile gloves and rubber boots; a portable moisture meter ($30-$50 at hardware stores) to identify wet wall cavities and flooring before they become mold problems.
Documentation supplies: A waterproof phone case, portable battery charger or power bank, and paper copies of your insurance policy declarations page (including policy number, insurer phone number, and flood policy information if applicable). When cellular networks are strained after a storm, having policy numbers on paper is faster than accessing accounts online.
Do: Shelter in place unless under a mandatory evacuation order — voluntary evacuations are strongly advisable but mandatory evacuations must be heeded. Move electronics, irreplaceable documents, medications, and valuables to upper floors or the highest available elevation in the home before the storm arrives — not during. Fill bathtubs with water for toilet flushing if municipal water supply may be disrupted by power outages at pumping stations.
Do not: Enter flooded basements or lower levels during the active storm or while water is rising — electrocution from energized wiring in contact with floodwater is a documented cause of storm-related fatalities. Do not operate generators indoors, in attached garages, or within 20 feet of open windows — carbon monoxide is odorless and can reach lethal concentrations in enclosed spaces within minutes. Do not drive through flooded roadways — 6 inches of moving water is sufficient to knock an adult off their feet; 12 inches can sweep away a standard passenger vehicle. The overwhelming majority of hurricane flood-related fatalities occur in vehicles on flooded roads. Turn around, do not drown.
Wait for official all-clear from local emergency management before returning to any area that was under evacuation order. Even after re-entry is permitted, a systematic safety assessment before entering your home is not optional — it is the difference between a manageable damage event and a fatality.
Before entering: visually confirm from outside the structure that the roof is intact enough to support its own weight, walls are plumb and not visibly leaning, and the foundation has no obvious displacement. A significantly compromised structure can collapse without warning. If you smell natural gas from outside the home, do not enter — call the utility company from a safe distance. Confirm with your utility company that electrical service has been verified safe in your area before entering any structure with floodwater at or above electrical outlet height.
Floodwater should be assumed Category 3 (contaminated with sewage, industrial chemicals, pesticides, and pathogens) until proven otherwise. Do not wade through floodwater without rubber boots and waterproof gloves at minimum. Open cuts or wounds exposed to Category 3 water require medical evaluation. Any sewage-contaminated flooding requires professional sewage backup cleanup — the contamination penetrates porous materials and cannot be adequately addressed with household cleaning products.
Before you move, remove, or disturb anything — document first. Insurance adjusters assess claims based on documented evidence of the damage as it existed after the storm. Premature cleanup, even with the best intentions, can compromise your ability to document the full scope of loss.
Document in this order: (1) Walk through every affected area from doorways, recording video of the full extent of visible damage. (2) Capture close-up still photographs of water lines (the high-water mark on walls), structural damage (cracked walls, displaced structural members), and damaged roof or building envelope elements. (3) Photograph all damaged contents in place, with brand names and models visible where possible. (4) Capture exterior damage — roofing, siding, fencing, outbuildings. (5) Upload everything to cloud storage immediately while you have cellular data connectivity, before network congestion increases. Then call your insurance claim line — the documentation is now available even if your phone is subsequently damaged or lost.
Understanding how to file a water damage insurance claim in the immediate aftermath of a storm significantly affects your claim outcome.
When the President declares a federal disaster for your county — which occurs routinely after major hurricane events — FEMA Individual Assistance becomes available to registered survivors. FEMA IA provides funds that can include grants for home repair, personal property replacement, and temporary housing assistance when insurance does not fully cover losses.
Register at DisasterAssistance.gov or by calling 1-800-621-FEMA (1-800-621-3362). Register even if you have insurance — FEMA IA is designed to cover gaps that insurance does not, including your deductible, uninsured losses, and living expenses during displacement. For a $2,500 hurricane deductible, a 20-minute registration that could result in reimbursement of that amount is always worth the time. The registration deadline is typically 60 days after the disaster declaration date for your county — do not wait.
After every significant hurricane event, out-of-state contractors begin appearing in affected neighborhoods within days — sometimes hours — soliciting work door-to-door. This is a documented post-disaster pattern in every state in our service territory. The legal term for the worst actors is "storm chaser contractors" — unlicensed, uninsured operations that collect deposits for work they will not complete, perform inadequate work that fails inspections, or simply disappear after payment.
Protect yourself with these specific steps: (1) Verify license at your state contractor licensing board before signing anything. Every state in our service territory maintains a public license verification database. An unlicensed contractor operating in the state is itself a legal violation. (2) Check IICRC certification — the standard credential for water damage restoration professionals. (3) Do not pay more than 10% of the total project cost upfront. Legitimate contractors extend reasonable payment terms; contractors who demand large upfront deposits are a documented warning sign. (4) Get everything in writing — scope of work, timeline, total cost, warranty — before any work begins. Verbal agreements are unenforceable. (5) Do not sign an Assignment of Benefits agreement (AOB) — an AOB transfers your insurance claim rights to the contractor, removing your control over the claim and creating documented opportunities for fraud in states where AOB abuse has been significant (Florida in particular has had significant legislative action on this issue). If a contractor insists on an AOB, decline and find a different contractor.
NFIP flood policies are administered through participating insurance companies (called Write-Your-Own carriers) but underwritten by the federal government. The claim process and coverage rules are federally standardized, which differs from standard homeowners claims where coverage terms vary by insurer.
What NFIP covers: Building coverage up to $250,000 for the structure, foundation, electrical, plumbing, HVAC, and built-in appliances. Contents coverage up to $100,000 for personal property (contents must be separately purchased — building-only policies are common and do not cover furniture, electronics, or clothing).
What NFIP does NOT cover: Additional living expenses (no coverage for hotel or temporary housing costs — a significant gap compared to homeowners policies, which typically include ALE). Items in enclosed spaces below the lowest floor in elevated structures (in NFIP-mapped flood zones, items stored in the enclosed area below an elevated home are not covered). Business interruption. Financial loss from business activities conducted from the home.
Payment timeline: NFIP claims typically settle within 30-60 days of complete documentation submission. Complex or large claims may take longer, particularly in the aftermath of a major regional event when adjusters are managing high claim volumes. The NFIP has a formal dispute process (the Appeals process) if you disagree with the adjuster's determination.
IICRC-certified water damage specialists available 24/7 — Southeast, Mid-Atlantic & New England.
Storm surge, flooding, and wind-driven water damage require certified specialists — not storm chasers. Our network covers all 15 states including Florida, Louisiana, the Carolinas, and the Gulf Coast. Call now.