Property Management Blog

Winter storms can range from a mild snowstorm to a severe blizzard that can last for some days. One of the main dangers according to Tidewater property management is power outages caused by inclement winter weather. When telephone and power lines are coated in ice, they become too heavy for the poles to hold, and they break, thus causing power outages, preventing the heating of homes. Lengthy exposure to very low temperatures can cause hypothermia and other health complications. Here are some basic tips your residents can use to prepare for severe winter weather. Assemble an Emergency Kit - This kit should have the following items:

• Canned foods and a manual can opener
• Drinking water
• Rock salt to melt the ice around certain areas of the building and the walkways
• To add traction to the walkways keep a bag of sand
• Battery-operated radios and flashlights
• Extra batteries
• Any medication that is being currently used
• First-aid kit

Pipes can become frozen during the winter, and they can burst. Don't turn off the pipes completely, but leave them to drip. If the pipes become frozen you can try using a hair dryer to unfreeze the pipes.  If you cannot get water from the pipes, then melt the snow and boil the water. Let the water boil for a couple of minutes. You can drink this water since many of the germs would have been destroyed through boiling. If there is a power failure, tune in your battery-operated radio to the weather radio receiver of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to get updates.