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How to stay safe and connected as Hurricane Ian approaches

4 min read

How to stay safe and connected as Hurricane Ian approaches

In the event of an extreme weather event — such as the looming danger from Hurricane Ian in Florida — it’s crucial to have a safety plan for staying connected to loved ones and protecting your property.

During a hurricane

Whether you’re allowed to shelter in place or must heed an evacuation warning, it’s important to protect your health, stay in touch with friends, family and neighbors, and keep an eye on your property.

ADT's SoSecure app can help you stay connected to loved ones.

Stay Connected: Follow changing weather conditions via the radio, television, safety app or weather website. Stay connected to friends and family members with the ADT SoSecure app. Its location-sharing feature enables users to invite family and friends to join private groups to share their locations or create a check-in. SoSecure is available on both iOS and Android phones, making it easy for cross-platform families and friends to stay better protected and connected within a single app.

Stay Inside: Do not go outside until you hear from authorities that the storm has passed your area completely. Stay away from all windows and exterior doors. Leave your home only in extreme circumstances (e.g. if your home is damaged or if authorities instruct you to do so).

Unplug: If you lose power, avoid a power surge by turning off all major appliances. If your home experiences an outage, your ADT security system will automatically switch to its internal backup battery, which will last 4-6 hours. You can find more information on ways your security system automatically responds to storm-related interruptions here

Secure Pets: If you have pets, make sure they are safely protected indoors as they could run in fear when inclement weather hits.

Get help fast: If you do need emergency assistance, a simple slide of the SoSecure app’s SOS button initiates an alert to ADT. ADT will contact you, alert authorities, and share your location and other user-provided, personally identifiable information to help emergency responders locate and identify you. SoSecure users can also chat directly with an ADT agent to report a disaster, fire, injury, gas leak or security concern.

Integrating smart cameras, like the Google Nest, with your ADT system can allow you to keep an eye on your home from afar.

Arm your home with smart devices: If you are away or need to evacuate your home, smart home devices can help you keep an eye on your home and monitor issues in real time.* When integrated with ADT, you’ll also have 24/7 monitoring of all of your systems.

  • Cameras: Well-positioned, all-weather video cameras help you keep an eye on your home, indoors and out, and allow you to monitor for damage or intrusion from your smartphone.
  • Flood detectors: Hurricanes can cause flooding and if you aren’t home, a flood detector can help you address water issues before they get out of hand. 
  • Smoke detectors: Exposed wiring, downed power lines and other hurricane-related issues can lead to fire damage that could be minimized with the right detection.
  • Carbon monoxide detectors: When the power goes out, some people turn to generators — but running one indoors or too close to a window can cause carbon monoxide poisoning, which can lead to death. You won’t smell CO if there’s a leak, but carbon monoxide sensors are designed to detect it and send you a warning.

* Some features, including mobile notifications, remote control, video streaming and video recording require working internet and Wi-Fi.

Know how to connect to ADT customer service: When weather conditions become unsafe for travel, ADT technicians may need to cancel or reschedule in-person appointments until it becomes safe to visit your home or business. We appreciate your patience if a scheduled appointment was impacted by unsafe weather conditions. Empowering our customers to protect and connect what matters most is our mission, and to do that, we take care to ensure the safety of our ADT team members who serve our customers every day.

If an ADT technician can't make it to your home due to unsafe conditions, you may be able to utilize the Virtual Assistance service.

As an alternative to in-person service, you can utilize our Virtual Assistance service. This free program allows you to connect remotely via video with a trained ADT technical specialist to get troubleshooting help. Get started by calling 800-521-1734 to schedule a service visit.

Post-hurricane safety

What you do after the hurricane passes can be as important as what you do during the storm. Here are a few things to focus on afterwards:

  • Stay informed: Stay up to date on instructions from local officials. If you’ve evacuated, only return to your home when it’s deemed safe.
  • Stay alert and safe: Avoid downed power lines and other dangerous debris. Do not attempt to walk or drive through floodwaters. It’s easy to overestimate your ability to navigate flood waters, but they can be extremely life-threatening via drowning, infection or electrocution.
  • Document damage: Take pictures of property damage to help with filing an insurance claim. Take action to prevent further damage to your home as insurance may not cover anything that occurs after the storm.
  • Find out more: Emergency groups, such as the Red Cross, have information on resources for help, as well as guidance for preparing for future extreme weather events.