Florida Storm Clean-Up: Tips To Help Homeowners
Written by John Wren|

Stay off downed lines. Light the walk. Cover the hole. Refuse a hanging cut you cannot see the top of.
Key takeaways
- Wait for the all-clear.
- Photo, then tarp.
- Lines are a utility.
- A hanging trunk is a pro.
Florida storm clean-up is gloves, a lamp, a tarp on what still leaks, and a no on downed lines — not a pressure-washer personality the morning after. The short answer: wait for the all-clear, photograph the damage, and move only what will not kill you.
Short version. A handheld is how you walk a dark house. First aid if the Saturday is already a cut. Pair with a hanging limb you should not pull. Check live prices.
This page is the yard and the porch. A structural roof is a licensed contractor. Power and gas are the utility.

Wait for the all-clear before the pile
A cell that is still a warning is not a photo outing. Floodwater hides a hole and a snake. Do: the county radio, then a walk you can still reverse. Don’t: kids in the midspan of a leaning palm. A chainsaw in dry grass is a later Saturday and a spark rule. After a storm the first job is not a cut. It is a look.
Downed lines are a no you do not debate. A fence that is humming is a fence you leave. Call. Stay back. The pile can wait an hour. The line cannot.
A lamp you can still click with a wet hand
The SureFire-class handheld is the live lamp we named for a dark hall, a crawl, a look under a skirt. One button. Check live prices.
Do: spare cells you already tested. Don’t: a phone as the only beam in a flooded garage. How to use the lamp is the habit page. Keep it dry after the week.
Cover the hole before you invent a remodel
The AmazonBasics Waterproof Camping Tarp is the live rectangle we named for a porch, a punctured screen, a stack you need dry until the adjuster arrives. Tie to what is already dead or to your own weights — not a live line. Check live prices.
Photograph the wet before you cover it. Insurance wants the scar. A pretty tarp without a photo is a story. Tarp sizes if the hole is already a roof conversation. This sheet is a pause, not a reroof.
A hanging limb is a no you walk around
A widowmaker over the driveway is a pro. A palm frond on the grass is a pile. Know the difference. Do: gloves, boots, a path you can still reverse. Don’t: a ladder in wet wind because a neighbor is already cutting.
| Job | Who actually does it |
|---|---|
| A downed line | The utility. You stay back. |
| A leak you can still cover | A tarp and a photo |
| A hanging trunk | A licensed cutter |
| A scrape | A pouch you opened at the table |
Stay off the line. Check live prices.
Open the pouch before the week gets cute
A 150-piece mini kit covers a blister and a bleed. Open it at the table. Check live prices.
M0-Piece Mini First Aid KitCheck price on AmazonTetanus is a clinic conversation if the cut is dirty. The first-aid page is the longer list. This pouch is the fifteen minutes on the driveway.
Wait, light, cover, refuse the hanging cut
That is Florida after the cone. Check live prices. Come inside before the next band.
Photos before the pile are the claim
Insurance wants the scar, not the pretty tarp. Walk the roof line from the ground if you can. Windows, a drip inside, a fence that moved. Do: date-stamped photos. Don’t: a remodel before the adjuster. A barn is a later contractor conversation. This week is the hole and the pile.
A generator is a carbon-monoxide conversation. Run it outside. A garage is a no. The handheld still lives in the same drawer. Check live prices on the SureFire-class beam. A phone is not the only light in a flooded hall.
Do: a neighbor check that is a knock, not a hero cut. Don’t: a downed line because it looked slack. Call. Stay back. The pile can wait. The line cannot.
Water inside is a mold clock
Pull wet carpet you can still lift. Fans if the power is honest. A shop vac if the water is not a sewer. Sewage is a pro. Do: open windows when the humidity outside is kinder. Don’t: a closed house and a hope. A cut in dirty water is a clinic if it is deep. The 150-piece mini kit we named is a wrap. Check live prices.
Kids and dogs off the wet pile. Nails and a palm frond are a tetanus conversation. A hanging limb over the drive is a licensed cutter. A frond on the grass is a pile. Know the difference.
FEMA and the county page are the aid sources. A friend with a chainsaw is not a structural engineer. A spark after a dry-down is a later Saturday. After a storm the first job is still the look.
A hull in the yard is a different pile
If the storm moved a boat, the five-minute leave already failed. Photograph the HIN. Indoor storage is a later year. This week is a trailer that still rolls and a cable on what walks. The Master Lock-class cable we name on other pages. This page is still the tarp and the lamp.
Do: a pump-out of a cockpit that is a bathtub. Don’t: a pressure lance into a gasket. The wash waits until the water is not a current in the street. Salt and flood mud are two jobs. Rinse when you can stand still.
A dock that walked is a contractor. Dock thinking after the claim. Stay off a leaning piling. The photo from the bank is enough.
Food and water are a cooler you already own
A hard box that still holds ice is a meal. The Grizzly we name on hunt pages is the same ice job if that box is already in the garage. This page does not invent a new cooler. Do: what you have, lid closed. Don’t: a fridge you keep opening in a dead house. Snacks if the week is already a line.
Water you hauled before the cone is the drown for a small burn and the drink. Mark the jugs. A filter if the tap is a maybe — the Sawyer Mini we name on boat pages is a drink, not a flood cleanup. Check live prices if that filter is already the kit.
Do: a neighbor share that is a jug, not a rumor. Don’t: a flooded well you “tested” with a cup. The county says when the tap is honest.
A cutter you hired is still a look you own
Ask where the wood goes. Ask about the line. The danger page is the walk you do before anyone climbs. A bargain that is a ladder in wet wind is a second claim. Do: a written scope. Don’t: a handshake in the street.
The AmazonBasics tarp we named covers a porch until the adjuster. Tie to dead weight or your own sandbags — not a live drop. Check live prices. Photo first. The sheet is a pause. A reroof is a license.
Do: a path you can still reverse. Don’t: kids in the midspan of a leaning palm. Recreational climbing is a class on a living tree, not a storm lean. Different Saturday. Different no.
Wait, photo, cover, refuse the hanging cut
That is the week. Check live prices on the SureFire-class lamp, the tarp, the 150-piece mini kit. Come inside before the next band. A hero pile is how people meet a line. Be the boring house. The county already has enough of the other kind.
Do: a card in the drawer — lamp, cells, tarp, pouch, the insurance number. Don’t: a hope. A kit that is not a costume still wants one beam you have clicked. Check live prices. Then the cone. Then the look. Then the photo. Then the cover.
Last line: Florida will do this again. The habit is the kit you can find in the dark. Put it back in the same drawer. That is clean-up you can keep.
The week after is a list, not a personality
Photo, cover, refuse the hanging cut, call the line, dry what you can lift. A pressure-washer show is a later Saturday when the water is not a current in the street. A hull rinse waits until you can stand still. Salt and flood mud are two jobs. Write which one you are doing.
Do: a neighbor share that is a jug and a lamp, not a hero climb. Don’t: a generator in a garage. Carbon monoxide is a clinic. The SureFire-class handheld we named still lives in the same drawer. Check live prices. Spare cells you already tested. A phone is not the only beam.
Aid: the county page, the insurance number, a contractor you can name. A friend with a saw is not a structural engineer. A widowmaker over the drive is a licensed cutter. The AmazonBasics tarp we named is a pause. Check live prices. Photo first. Then the sheet. Then inside before the next band.
Put the kit back in the same drawer
Lamp, cells, tarp, pouch, the number. Florida will do this again. A kit that is not a costume still wants one beam you have clicked. Check live prices on the 150-piece mini kit. Open it once a year. Then the cone. Then the look. Be the boring house. The county already has enough of the other kind.
Do: a February glance at the cells. Don’t: a hope. Keep the lamp dry after the week. Then the drawer. Then the next season. That is clean-up you can keep. That is enough. Come inside. Eat. Sleep. The pile can wait until the line is dead and the cutter has a scope.
Last line: wait for the all-clear. Photograph the scar. Cover the hole. Leave hanging wood and humming fences to people who can name them. That is Florida after the cone. That is the whole week if you only keep one card.
A second band is a reason to stop the pile
If the radio still has a warning, the driveway is not a project. Do: the cover you already tied, the lamp you can still click, kids inside. Don’t: a new cut because a neighbor started. A spark after a dry-down is a later Saturday. After a storm the first job is still the look. The SureFire-class handheld we named. The AmazonBasics tarp we named. The 150-piece mini kit we named. Check live prices. Photo first. Then the sheet. Then inside.
Utility first. A humming fence is a fence you leave. Gas is a call. Structural roofs are a license. A bargain ladder in wet wind is a second claim. A hanging trunk is a pro. A frond on the grass is a pile. Know the difference. Write the insurance number on the same card as the lamp. Florida will do this again. Put the kit back. That is the week. That is enough. Come inside. Eat. Sleep. The pile can wait until the line is dead.
Also in the magazine
Keep going with a handheld, dangerous trees, first aid, and spark habits. Check live prices.
Frequently asked questions
What is the first Florida storm clean-up step?
Wait for the all-clear. Stay off downed lines. Photograph damage. Then move only what will not kill you.
What lamp should I buy?
A SureFire-class handheld you can click with a wet hand. A phone is not the only beam.
What covers a leak until the adjuster?
The AmazonBasics Waterproof Camping Tarp. Photo first. The sheet is a pause, not a reroof.
Can I drop a hanging limb myself?
If it is a frond on the grass, maybe. A trunk in the wires or a widowmaker over the drive is a licensed cutter.
What first-aid kit?
The Adventure Medical 150-piece mini kit, opened once at the table before the week.
When do I call the utility?
Any downed line, a humming fence, a smell of gas. That is not a neighbor project.


