Last Sunday, the Midlands received a terrible scare, power outages, property damage, and loss of homes when four tornadoes touched down in our home state. While South Carolina was spared loss of life, the storms were widespread across the southeast—38 tornadoes in all—and claimed 23 lives in Lee County, Alabama.
From my wife’s home in Florence, after having just celebrated our anniversary, I watched nervously as my friends and neighbors in the Midlands prepared for the possibility of yet another life-threatening natural disaster to strike. What I find as frightening as the tornadoes themselves is just how often people do not heed weather warnings, never expecting that they will be the ones to get hit. But you only have to think back to the floods of 2015, which devastated the eastern side of Columbia, to know that our town is not immune to environmental dangers—and many people don’t realize that a tornado alley spans the Carolinas. With forecasts predicting more severe weather across the southeast this weekend, it’s imperative that we all have a plan to get to safety if the alarms sound again.
In addition to seeing to your personal safety, I strongly encourage everyone to review your homeowners and renters insurance policies to make sure that your property has adequate coverage should another storm of this magnitude hit us. As part of our business at Mike Kelly Law Group is insurance litigation, we know that every natural disaster brings an avalanche of disputes with insurance companies. When people have lost everything, the last thing they need is to take on a battle over insurance coverage. We are here to fight on your behalf should you find yourself in that position, but the first line of defense is to know your policy and know your rights well before disaster strikes.
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