Hurricane Milton: Protect your home from looting with these 4 steps

As Hurricane Milton approaches west cardinal Florida, highways are backed up for miles with evacuees, creating a cleanable tempest for looters to monopolize connected the impending upwind event. 

"If you deliberation you’re going to spell successful and loot, you got different happening coming," Gov. Ron DeSantis said during a briefing astatine the state’s Emergency Operations Center.

"If you spell into somebody’s location aft the tempest passes, deliberation that you’re going to beryllium capable to perpetrate crimes, you’re going to get successful truly superior trouble. And rather frankly, you don’t cognize what’s down that doorway successful a Second Amendment state."

Geoff Fahringer, who worked for 50 years successful instrumentality enforcement and has taught a fig of courses centered astir exigency preparedness, explained however homeowners tin marque their properties little charismatic to would-be burglars. 

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1. Make it look similar idiosyncratic is home

Fahringer said that though powerfulness outages are expected, homeowners tin permission lights connected and adjacent euphony playing wrong their homes to marque it look arsenic though they are inhabited.

"Hopefully, if you person an in-home generator oregon the powerfulness doesn't spell out, the location [will] look similar someone's there," Fahringer told Fox News Digital. "That's the archetypal happening we should bash is successful immoderate concern erstwhile we're not home, marque it look similar we're home."

Highway signage announces the impending accomplishment of Hurricane Milton and the evacuation zones, Oct. 8, 2024, successful Port Richey, Fla. (AP Photo/Mike Carlson)

2. Advertise alarm systems and cameras astir the home, even if you don't really person an alarm oregon surveillance system

Fahringer said that disposable cameras and stickers notifying would-be criminals of alarm systems are bully deterrents, and adjacent if you don't really person these systems successful place, immoderate inexpensive dupes tin marque those criminals deliberation twice. 

"A precise astute determination arsenic a deterrent to crime connected your spot is [to] spell connected Amazon and bargain a acceptable of fake cameras," helium said. "There's cameras connected Amazon arsenic debased arsenic $30 for a acceptable of 4 that are star activated oregon batteries oregon solar-powered. And they really person a small reddish blinking airy that's blinking to amusement that the camera's recording, adjacent though it's a fake camera. For arsenic small arsenic $10, you tin bargain stickers for your model to amusement that the location has an alarm system."

HURRICANE MILTON EVACUATIONS IN FLORIDA: WHAT TO PACK AHEAD OF THE STORM

A boarded up business, marked with graffiti reading, "Go location Milton, U R drunk," is seen past debris from Hurricane Helene piled up extracurricular a home, up of the accomplishment of Hurricane Milton, successful Holmes Beach connected Anna Maria Island, Fla., Oct. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

3. Form an enactment program with neighbors 

If you are evacuating and your neighbors are not, considering communicating with them to support an oculus connected your spot and marque themselves disposable if thing looks awry. 

"Get unneurotic with your neighbors and person a discussion. What would we do? What is your plan? If determination [are] strangers successful the vicinity now, time to day, it's an important conversation," Fahringer said. 

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Debris from homes flooded successful Hurricane Helene sits curbside arsenic Hurricane Milton approaches connected Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024, successful Port Richey, Fla. (AP Photo/Mike Carlson)

"Criminals hatred an audience," Fahringer continued. "Think astir coyotes. Coyotes are looking astatine a herd of deer. The past happening they privation to bash is beryllium seen by the herd of deer. If you deliberation astir it, criminals [are] thing much than two-legged coyotes. They don't privation witnesses."

Fahringer said that neighbors don't person to straight face strangers successful the neighborhood. Instead, they should marque sound to alert the remainder of the vicinity to their presence. 

"It's capable to fto strangers successful the vicinity cognize that you spot them," helium said.

"You commencement seeing a unusual car successful a vicinity down the street, hit your alarm button," helium said. "Your neighbors are going to perceive it. Everybody comes retired and sees what's going on."

Fahringer besides suggested getting a compressed airhorn to ward disconnected burglars and get the attraction of different neighbors. 

"It's going to alert and astir apt frighten disconnected oregon origin the transgression to alteration their plan," helium said. "It gets the neighbors alert that something's going on."

You should stock interaction accusation with your neighbors truthful that if they spot thing unusual happening astatine your home, they tin support you informed.

4. If you ain a firearm, instrumentality grooming classes and cognize however to usage it

Florida is simply a "Stand Your Ground" authorities – if you are location successful the aftermath of Hurricane Milton and an intruder breaks into your property, you are wrong your rights to usage a firearm. However, Fahringer said it's important to beryllium prepared to usage it. 

"Most radical person a mendacious sentiment connected however they would woody with an equipped threat. And a batch of it's based connected what they saw successful movies and TV," helium said. "Most radical hesitate oregon adjacent not respond and really occurrence a weapon. And that's truly a bully thing. That's the mode we should be."

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"If you determine you are going to go an equipped citizen, I would beg you to instrumentality grooming classes," helium said. "You person to larn however your limb works. You truly should larn however each akin types of weapons work, similar the 1 you own. And you should instrumentality existent classes connected however to safely grip that weapon. And portion of those classes should beryllium learning the laws of your authorities [regarding] the usage of deadly carnal unit oregon adjacent threatening deadly carnal force."