Hurricane season checklist for coastal commercial and apartment properties

Fix the roof and openings

Wind damage to a building often starts where a roof edge or an opening gives way first. IBHS's FORTIFIED Commercial standard (2025) is a useful target. It has three levels: Roof, Silver and Gold. Its hurricane-region rules apply on the Gulf and Atlantic coasts where the Risk Category II design wind speed exceeds 115 mph, plus Hawaii, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam and American Samoa.¹²

• 1Roof edges: low-slope membrane roofs often fail at the edges, where metal edge flashing, coping or fascia lifts and peels. FORTIFIED requires edge metal tested to ANSI/SPRI/FM 4435/ES-1; FEMA suggests screws and washers instead of cleats.^12,13
• 2Roof cover: FORTIFIED accepts only full tear-offs, not re-covers, bars ballast stone, pavers and loose-laid gravel, and requires a peel-stop 1 to 2 feet from single-ply membrane edges. The International Building Code (2009 and later) bans gravel ballast surfacing in hurricane-prone regions.^12,13
• 3Rooftop equipment: fasten it mechanically to the structure, with no ballasted units, as FORTIFIED requires. HVAC access panels can blow off and tear membranes; hasps or locking devices such as carabiners, approved by the manufacturer, keep them on.^12,13
• 4Windows and doors: in hurricane-prone regions, FORTIFIED Silver requires windows, glazed openings and exterior doors to be impact-rated or protected. On existing buildings, that means impact-resistant glass or impact protective systems such as shutters or screens.^12,14,15
• 5Shutters and garage doors: shutters need people, time and sometimes equipment to reach upper floors, so use only labeled, tested, code-compliant ones. Garage doors are among a building's largest openings; bracing, stronger glider tracks or debris-impact-rated replacements help them hold.⁸

Keep records offsite

Records made before a storm are what prove its damage afterward. Keep these current, with copies offsite:

• 1A photo or video inventory of the premises, equipment and supplies. Photos of critical building and IT equipment can be compared with post-disaster photos to prove the extent of damage.^9,1
• 2An equipment list with location, serial number, pre-event condition, age, warranty and a before photo, updated at least once a year.¹
• 3Roof cover design, installation, maintenance and repair records. FORTIFIED's 5-year re-evaluations review them, and may require a moisture survey or uplift test when records fall short.¹²
• 4Current policies and their declarations pages, which list limits and deductibles, reviewed with the agent once a year.^9,10
• 5As-built plans, deeds, loan documents, permits and certificates of occupancy, with cloud copies offsite; contact lists; and financial records and receipts, which FEMA calls vital in support of any flood loss.^1,10

Apartment communities

Apartment owners also plan for residents. HUD's Multifamily Disaster Preparedness Plan Template (2026) adds a resident survey that identifies residents likely to need mobility help, several ways to reach residents announced in advance, backup power with at least three days of fuel on site, and elevators shut down and recalled above flood level.¹

Forecasts, watches and warnings

Most Atlantic activity falls between mid-August and mid-October. The National Hurricane Center (NHC) Tropical Weather Outlook gives the chance of a disturbance developing within 2 and 7 days. NHC can start advisories on a disturbance that is not yet a tropical cyclone up to 72 hours before tropical-storm-force winds or surge reach land.^2,16

Public advisories come every 3 hours once coastal watches or warnings are in effect. The cone shows the probable track of the storm's center, not the area at risk: places well outside it often get tornadoes or heavy-rain flooding.^3,17

Two maps help with timing. The Earliest Reasonable Arrival Time map shows the time before which tropical-storm-force winds have no more than a 1 in 10 chance of starting; owners with a low tolerance for risk should ideally finish preparations by then. The Potential Storm Surge Flooding Map shows a reasonable worst case, flood depths with a 1 in 10 chance of being exceeded. It usually first appears with a surge watch or warning, or up to 72 hours ahead when forecast confidence is high.^4,18

As a storm approaches

• 1Hold staff meetings at 96, 72, 48, 24 and 12 hours before the storm, as HUD's template sets out, and call the evacuation when the local government orders it. Under a storm surge warning, check for evacuation orders.^3,1
• 2Before landfall, clear roof drains, scuppers and gutters, remove loose objects from the roof, and strap each HVAC unit with 2 or 3 cargo straps at least 3 inches wide. With time left, check curb attachments and, where weak, screw fans, hoods and small units to wood or sheet metal curbs about every 5 inches on each side.¹⁹
• 3Remove roof vent turbine heads and plug the standpipes. Put up shutters and manual flood shields while people and time remain.

Where official information comes from

NHC products are on hurricanes.gov. Local NWS offices issue Hurricane Local Statements on local impacts, and local officials set evacuation zones and orders. NWS sends Wireless Emergency Alerts for hurricane, storm surge and extreme wind warnings, with no signup.^3,7,20