Hurricanes, Natural Disasters & Your Move: Understanding Storage

It’s been a busy week for the Weather Channel. Hurricanes Harvey and Irma have caused lots of damage in Florida and along the Gulf Coast; on the other side of the country, huge wildfires are burning. Storms and natural disasters are by their very nature beyond anyone’s control. Sometimes they happen when you’re planning or in the midst of a household move.

Can’t Stay Where You Are & Can’t Move Into Your New Place?

There are several ways a storm or natural disaster can impact a planned move. One of the most common problems is that the weather event or catastrophe affects the region you’re moving to. The case may be that the property you’re moving into has been damaged or destroyed; in other instances, while the actual individual property is in good shape, it may be impossible to access due to local road conditions.

Many times, it is impossible for people to stay in the housing they’ve already arranged to move out of. Families who can’t move into their intended address need to find another place to stay. In the meantime, there’s the question of what happens to the family’s household possessions. Items can’t stay on the moving truck for a prolonged period of time – while overnight storage in the truck is a standard part of cross country or long-distance moves, it’s not an appropriate solution when your delivery date is postponed for a long or indefinite time.

Short & Long-Term Storage: For Disrupted or Interrupted Moves

The first thing you need to do if your move is disrupted or postponed due to hurricane or natural disaster is talk to your insurance agent. Some homeowners’, renters’ and movers’ insurance policies include benefits that pay for short or long term storage of your household items in the event a move is delayed due to circumstances beyond your control. We regret that we can’t answer specific questions about specific insurance company’s policies: your agent is the person who has that information.

When choosing a storage facility for your household possessions, you want to choose a location that is safe, secure, well-maintained and logically positioned relevant to your intended destination. Storage units come in a variety of sizes: we’ll help you determine how much space you’ll need based on the moving truck load size. Choose short term storage if you know you’ll be able to access your intended destination within days or weeks; if the delay is going to be more than a month in duration, you’ll need to know about long term storage.

To learn more about Shleppers storage, visit https://www.shleppers.com/storage/. Have questions? Drop us a line and call (800) 847-4537. A member of our team will be happy to provide the answers.