Wicked Weather and Your Family Heirlooms (Photos included)

It’s that time of year when weather leads the news reports–tornados, floods and hurricanes. Also in the news are pictures and footage of folks clutching family photos they’ve rescued from disaster. There is a lot you can do to save your family heirlooms from the wild and wicked weather.

I’ve written several weather related articles:

When the Worst Happens covers tips to remember when salvaging photos from water damage.

Planning for Disaster talks about the three steps in disaster preparedness–preparation, response and recovery.

10 Ways Weather Changed Your Family History appears in the May 2008 issue of Family Tree Magazine. A timeline of weather events and a list of resources appears on the Family Tree Magazine website.

I’m a bit of a weather nut. I grew up in Rhode Island where everyone still talks about the Hurricane of 1938. It devasted the state and most of the area never recovered. A high school class in meteorology clinched my interest (and you thought I only cared about photos <smile>). My friends know not to raise the issue of global warming in my presence!

Two of my favorite books on weather are:

Mark Levine’s F5: Devastation, Survival, and the Most Violent Tornado Outbreak of the Twentieth Century (Miramax, $25.95)

R.A. Scott’s Sudden Sea: The Great Hurricane of 1938 (Back Bay Books, $14.95)

I’d love to hear how you’ve rescued family heirlooms from destruction. Post to either the comment section of this blog or to the Family Tree Magazine Photo Detective Forum. Got a book to recommend? Post that as well.