MARSHALL COUNTY, Ala. — An early morning storm on March 28 caused damage in several parts of the Tennessee Valley, including Marshall County.
Marshall County Sheriff Phil Sims said the biggest problem following the storm is how easily trees are being knocked down.
"The ground is saturated with water. We've had so much rain that the winds are just blowing the trees completely over," said Sims. "They're not twisting, it's just straight-line winds are blowing the trees, roots and all, out of the ground."
Strong winds managed to knock down several trees around the Marshall County Courthouse and caused power outages throughout the county.
Crews assisted by the sheriff's office have been working throughout the morning to clean up damage caused by the storm. Power started coming back to some residents around 12 p.m.
With a good chance severe weather will strike the Tennessee Valley again this spring, Sims says to be mindful of trees being blown over easily.
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Preparing your home for severe weather
"Bring inside any of those loose items that are outside or tuck them real close to your house that could become flying debris, that's step number one. So, basically, take a walk around your house and look for some of those loose items and see what you can move and bring inside," said Dr. Ian Giammanco, lead research meteorologist with the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety.
Then there's protecting your vehicle.
"A good option too with hail also as a threat, if you've got a garage, make sure you can get your car in there. A lot of us, just like me like to store things in our garage but see if you can clean it out and get your car under cover," said Giammanco.
"Find that interior room whether it's a closet or a bathroom, basically the center of your home, lowest floor, and put as many walls between you and the outside as possible. So think about this, a 2x4 can go through an exterior wall even if it's got brick veneer on the outside but chances are, it's gonna take a lot more to get through multiple walls to where you are," said Giammanco.
With this severe weather making its way to the valley, the possibility of your home being damaged increases. There are some things you should do before and after to protect you and your home if it's damaged in this weather.
"The word of the day if you think about your insurance policy is document, document, document," said Giammanco.
It's important to document the state of your home before any possible damage occurs.
"Go around your house with your cell phone and take pictures of all your valuable items, your appliances, your televisions, all the things of value that you wanna make sure you've documented, make sure you've got the geotagging, all the timestamp stuff going on your cell phone and that can make the claims process, if something happens to your home, much smoother," said Giammanco.
If your home does get damaged, there is something you need to do immediately and something you need to look out for.
"The first person you should call if you think you have damage is your insurance agent. Make sure you have their phone numbers stored in your cell phone and call them immediately and be very wary of contractors that show up, within you know, 12, 18 hours of a storm, they may not have great documentation. We just don't want people to get taken advantage of and we see that from time to time after these big severe weather events," said Giammanco.
Let's say you've suffered damage, what can you do to avoid being scammed by someone when getting your house repaired?
"When you're out there looking for a potential contractor to help repair your home, look for somebody in your local community. Chances are they're reputable, everyone knows them, you're gonna avoid that potential for that kind of fly-by-night fraud scenarios that we actually see from time to time. And also make sure that they are essentially licensed and bonded and have their own insurance, that's a good indicator that they're a reputable company," said Giammanco.