You feel comfortable in the house or the apartment in which you live?

Do you also feel safe there?

It is not just extreme weather conditions which can endanger safety in buildings.
Electric power breakdowns or water supply, energy or tele - communications failures make life uncertain.
You can do something about these. In many cases, minor structural measures are sufficient to significantly increase safety.
Below, you will find a small selection of things that you can do or arrange.

The roof

• Have the roof covering secured with wind hooks and a sufficient supply of nails.
• Prevent roof avalanches with snow guards (duty of safeguarding traffic on pavements etc.).
• Flat roofs and wide-span ceilings are at particular risk of a snow load.
• Secure the roof truss and the roof cladding against being lifted off in the event of gale force winds with additional fortifications.
• In the event of inclined roofs, have wind braces installed in a crosswise arrangement.

The outdoor area

• With regard to the trees near the house, please remember the risk of wind damage.
• Secure awnings and canopies against storms.

The sewage

• With regard to the trees near the house, please remember the risk of wind damage.
• Secure awnings and canopies against storms.
• Install backwater valves in sewer pipes and regularly check that they are functioning correctly.
• With a lifting unit, you can dispose of sewage from lower floors; these pipes must be guided significantly above the backflow level.
• A powerful submersible pump, in conjunction with a sump, makes it possible to pump out any water that has got in. Sumps should be provided for in a number of places on floors that are at risk of flooding and near the exits.
• Tiles and waterproof construction and insulation materials in the basement floors make an effective disposal of water and sludge residue possible if necessary.

Electric supply

• Have the electrical system checked with respect to overvoltage protection and for residual current devices (RCD) and have them added if necessary.
• Does your house have sufficient lightning protection?
• For floors that are at risk, there should be completely separate power circuits, which can be switched off completely if required.
• Set up meter cabinets, the domestic junction box etc. to be safe from flooding.
• If you live in a floodplain, you should consider having a small, powerful emergency generator (submersible pump!).

The heating

• Secure fuel tanks in the house and outside against floating away.
• Also allow for the possibility of operating the entire heating system via emergency power.
• The heating system itself should also be secured against floods.

Risk of disasters

To what extent is your area at risk from flooding, earthquakes, fires or another emergency? If you live in a danger area, are you taking appropriate precautions?.