6 Security Tips as Storm Lorenzo Approaches
Storm Lorenzo is making its way towards the west coast of Ireland and Met Éireann has issued a status orange warning for six counties, Clare, Cork, Galway, Kerry, Limerick and Mayo. The other 20 counties all have a status yellow warning. The status is set to be in place until 3am on Friday.
Storm Lorenzo is set to hit this evening around 5pm. Bringing with it winds of 65 to 80 km/h. During this time, we would like to advise all our HomeSecure customers, particularly those living along the west coast, to remain safe and avoid making any unnecessary journeys. We’d like to remind HomeSecure customers your system will work for at least 12 hours even in the event of a power cut, working off both the batteries and GSM. The majority of our customer’s systems work off WiFi and GSM, which will always look for the strongest network signal in your area. If there is a network outage the panel will reconnect as soon as services resume.
We’ve also compiled a quick list of simple storm tips, so your home is ready for the worst.
Get the candles at the ready
If there is a power outage, candles are your new best friend. Place candles throughout the mains room your family will be in and leave one or two in the bathroom as well but always keep an eye on them, especially if there are children or pets in the house. Keep a lighter or box of matches nearby as well.
Get the torches out
The candles will help provide a bit of light for the room and torches are great if you need to walk around your home. Sound obvious, but make sure you don’t want to try the torch, only to learn the batteries are dead. If you have new batteries, pop them into the torch, so you’re not left in the dark. It’s important to save your phone battery for an emergency.
Have your mobile phones charged
Let’s face it, phone batteries don’t last half as long as we’d like them to. We advise you to fully charge your phone, so you have battery when the storm hits. If you need to make an emergency call or check in on family, you want to have your full battery. Remember you can always check the status of your alarm on your HomeSecure app.
Check in on elderly neighbours
If you have elderly neighbours, check in with them this them morning, while you can still get out and about. Make sure they follow the above tips and have candles, batteries and torches at the ready. Make sure they have items for a fire if they need to keep warm. As the warning is only in place for 12 hours, we shouldn’t see bread shortages like the of 2018 blizzard, but make sure they have enough to get through the day and if you have time, pop to the shop to get them some items, if they can’t go themselves.
Secure outdoor items
Before the storm hits, it’s important you store away or tie down larger items, such as patio furniture or trampolines. The last thing you want is one of them flying off into a car, window or into your neighbour’s homes.
Remember your panic buttons
In the event of an emergency, remember your alarm panel has a panic feature. If your phone is out of battery or you can’t get to it, hit the panic alert on your KeyPad to send a panic alert to our monitoring station. They’ll send the relevant emergency service to your home.
Our monitoring will still be there 24/7 in the case of any emergency. We monitor the weather impact on both mobile signal and power networks and during the storm period to ensure that your panel reconnects once services have resumed. Remember we run a daily diagnostic on your system and will call you should action be required.