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UCF develops app to help Florida residents know how hurricane-ready their homes are

By FOX 35 News Staff
Updated  June 9, 2022 11:00am EDT
FOX 35 Orlando Hurricane Center
FOX 35 Orlando

Hurricane Preparation: How to protect your home’s windows and roof ahead of tropical storms

Preparing ahead of hurricane season is key, including having an emergency kit and extra supplies. It’s also important to protect your home from rain, wind, and other storm damage. Here are a few reminders from the experts to keep your home safe.

ORLANDO, Fla. - Hurricane season is here and if forecasters predictions are correct, it's expected to be a very busy one. To help residents stay prepared, researchers at the University of Central Florida have developed a free app that will tell them how hurricane-ready their homes are.

It's called HazardAware and it's simple to use. Just type in your address in the search bar, and you'll be given a HazardReady score, levels of risk, and options for making it safe.

"The score shows just how resilient, or disaster-ready, a home is, and projects how much hazards, such as winds and flooding, could cost a homeowner each year," UCF Today reports.

According to the app, it can provide the most hazard information in one place for 13.3 million residential properties in 196 counties – including states usually hit the hardest during hurricane season like Florida, Alabama, and Louisiana. The app's HazardReady Score takes into account over a dozen potential weather threats, including hurricane winds and flooding.

ATLANTIC OCEAN - SEPTEMBER 3: NOAA GOES-East satellite handout (Photo by NOAA via Getty Images)

"The idea isn’t to limit where people should live based on potential risk, rather to give renters and buyers a more complete picture of potential hazards and what it would take to protect a property against those risks, such as hurricanes, sea rise and sink holes, among other threats," the app's website says. 

TRACK THE TROPICS: Visit the FOX 35 Storm Team Hurricane Center for the latest tropical weather outlook and more

The app was developed by a team of researchers not only at UCF, but around the country including Arizona, South Carolina, and Louisiana. 

The goal of the HazardAware project is to help residents make smarter housing decisions based on hazard risks and mitigation of those risks. 

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The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) predicts another above-average Atlantic hurricane season for the 2022 season, which runs through Nov. 30. This season, NOAA anticipates between 14 and 21 named storms, and between 6-10 of those becoming hurricanes. Of those 10, NOAA said three to six could become major hurricanes (category 3, 4, or 5).