Before the Storm
Before a hurricane hits South Florida, focus on preparedness: create a family emergency plan, gather essential supplies, secure your home, and stay informed about the storm's path and intensity. Key actions include designating a safe room, securing outdoor items, and ensuring adequate water and food supplies.
- Prepare Your Home
- Sanitation Services
- Tree and Lawn Preparation
- Windows and Doors
- Construction Sites
- Photograph the condition of your home and items stored inside and outside of your property before the hurricane.
- Build your Emergency Go Kits with 3 to 14 days’ worth of supplies per person.
- Have enough critical supplies such as medication, baby products and pet food.
- Make power outage preparation plans. Charge cell phones and purchase backup charging devices to power electronics.
- Bring in lawn furniture or other outdoor items not tied down that could become airborne.
- Remove tents, blow up pools and any other miscellaneous items stored outdoors and on balconies that can become projectiles.
- Repair or replace broken or damaged fences.
- Declutter drains and gutters.
- Inspect the roof for loose tiles, shingles or debris. Secure roof tarps.
- Trailer boats should be removed from the water and securely stored at least 48 hours before a hurricane is expected to make landfall. Moor the boat in a previously identified safe are
- Fill your vehicle with gas and safely store gas to operate your residential generator.
- Check on neighbors who might need information or assistance.
- Regularly scheduled sanitation services will continue until winds reach 35 miles per hour. Such services include garbage, recycling and bulk pick-up service.
- Secure your trash and recycling carts in a garage, utility shed or covered patio.
- Bulk trash route suspensions will be announced within 48 hours of a storm making landfall.
- Trash placed out for pick-up after services have been suspended should be removed from curbside.
For more information about sanitation services, please visit NorthMiamiFL.gov/Sanitation or call 305-893-6511, Ext. 17000.
- Do not begin any tree pruning or clean-up activities, or place trash on the curb, during a tropical storm, hurricane watch or hurricane warning.
- Prune trees during the tree species’ dormant season or during early spring.
- Landscapers and residents should not blow grass clippings onto sidewalks, streets and storm drains, which can lead to street flooding. Instead, they should be bagged or blown back onto the lawn where they can serve as natural mulch.
To request tree service for city swales and rights-of-way, you can:
- Submit tree service requests online.
- call at 305-895-9870 or 305-893-6511, Ext. 14006.
- Send an-email to North Miami Aerial and Tree Operations Division.
- In person at the Public Works Department 1855 NE 142 Street, North Miami, FL 33181.
- Once a storm threat is announced, windows and doors should be secured with storm shutters or by boarding up windows with plywood.
- Inspect existing shutters to ensure they are in good working order.
- Tape does not prevent windows from breaking. Note, shutters and plywood must begin to be removed 72 hours after the storm subsides.
- At the time of a declared hazardous weather condition, all sites shall be secured and
the following conditions adhered to:
- Dumpster shall be removed from the site or secured in a way to prevent debris from becoming a nuisance to the surrounding community.
- All material shall be secured inside any structure or removed from the site.
- No material shall be delivered to the site if a weather warning of any kind has been declared.
- All roofing material that has not been installed shall be removed from the roof and secured as detailed above.
- All fence screening shall be dropped and any fence sections whose poles are not securely installed into the ground shall be removed from the property or secured on the property.
- Any violations shall be subject to civil penalty of $500. Additionally, no final inspection shall be granted until such time as all code violations have been abated.