Experts recommend house and roof safety precautions during National Lightning Awareness Week

With recent severe weather around the Houston metropolitan area, it is fitting that this is National Lightning Awareness Week.

Recently in the southern part of the United States, two homes were hit by lightning and caught on fire. Don’t let your home be next by heeding precautionary measures that you can take in the event your house or roof gets struck by lightning.

Weather officials say Louisiana is the second most lightning active state in the country, only behind Florida. In Baton Rouge, thunderstorms occur 20% of the year equating to about every five days.

Some affordable measures to take for example, include adding landscaping rocks against a house because the rocks won't catch fire like mulch. Many professionals also advise having smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. These are the first line of defense that every home should have.

Another great suggestions to help avoid losing power, install a surge arrester.

Surges can shorten the life of your electronics and equipment. So a surge arrester is a necessary investment to protect the valued electronics you have in your home.

Last but not least, in terms of protection, there's also the old standby: the lightning rod. A lightning rod can protect a home from lightning's powerful electrical charge by directing the energy from a lighting strike down to the ground through the wire instead of passing through the structure of the building where it can start a fire or even cause electrocution (Learn more about lighting rods for your roof).

A prepared home is a safe home. Take the necessary steps to keep your family safe today by following this advice and by researching for even more good tips.