Hurricane season in Miami runs from June 1 through November 30 every single year. That’s six months when your household staff need to be prepared for the possibility of a major storm with very little advance warning. This isn’t theoretical – Miami gets hit by hurricanes regularly enough that storm preparation can’t be treated as something you’ll figure out if it happens. Your estate manager needs protocols in place, supplies ready, and clear understanding of what’s required long before there’s a storm forming in the Atlantic.
The most fundamental requirement is that your household staff understand the difference between a hurricane watch and a hurricane warning. A watch means conditions are possible in the next 48 hours. A warning means hurricane conditions are expected in the next 36 hours. When a warning is issued, it’s too late to start preparing – preparation should already be done. Your estate manager needs to be monitoring weather forecasts throughout hurricane season and ready to implement storm prep the moment a watch is issued for your area.
At Seaside Staffing Company, we work with Miami families whose household staff sometimes don’t fully grasp how fast things can escalate during hurricane season. A tropical depression in the Caribbean can become a Category 3 hurricane heading toward Miami in 48 hours. Your staff don’t have time to leisurely figure out storm prep over the course of a week. They need to know exactly what to do and be able to execute the entire protocol within 24-36 hours when a storm is approaching.
Storm shutters or impact windows are your first line of defense, and your house manager needs to know how to deploy or verify them. If you have storm shutters that need to be installed, your staff should know where they’re stored, how to install them, and have a contractor on speed dial who can help if needed. If you have impact windows that don’t require shutters, your staff should verify they’re in good condition and all seals are intact well before storm season starts, not when a hurricane is 48 hours away.
Outdoor items become projectiles in hurricane winds. Your estate manager should have a detailed list of everything outside that needs to be secured or brought inside before a storm – furniture, grills, planters, decorations, pool equipment, anything that could become airborne in 100+ mph winds. This isn’t something to figure out when a storm is approaching. The list should exist, it should be updated seasonally, and your staff should be able to execute it quickly when needed.
Generator maintenance becomes critical if you have backup power. Your estate manager should be coordinating annual generator servicing before hurricane season starts, testing it regularly throughout the season, and making sure fuel is properly stored and ready. Power outages after hurricanes can last days or even weeks in some areas. If you have a generator and it doesn’t work when you need it because it wasn’t maintained, your entire household is without power while waiting for repairs.
Water and food supplies need to be stocked and rotated. Your house manager should maintain a minimum supply of bottled water, non-perishable food, batteries, flashlights, first aid supplies, and other emergency essentials. These supplies need to be checked periodically and replaced before expiration dates. When a storm is approaching, stores sell out of essentials within hours. If your staff wait until a hurricane warning to stock up, they’re too late.
Documentation and valuables need predetermined protocols. Your estate manager should know what important documents, artwork, jewelry, or irreplaceable items need to be secured in a safe or moved to higher floors if flooding is possible. Some families have fireproof/waterproof safes specifically for this purpose. The time to identify and locate these items is before storm season, not during evacuation.
Evacuation decisions are among the most serious calls your household staff might have to make if you’re not in Miami when a storm threatens. Does your staff evacuate or shelter in place? Who makes that decision? Where do they go if they evacuate? What do they take with them? These conversations need to happen before there’s a storm approaching, not while your staff are trying to make life-or-death decisions without clear guidance from you.
Vehicle preparation matters because cars left outside can be destroyed by flooding or flying debris. Your estate manager should have plans for where vehicles are stored during storms – garage parking for as many as possible, moving others to higher ground or parking garages if flooding is likely. Cars are expensive assets that can be protected with advance planning but are easily destroyed if left in vulnerable locations during hurricanes.
Communication plans become critical when cell towers go down and power is out. Your staff need to know how to reach you if normal communication channels fail. Some families provide satellite phones or two-way radios for emergency communication. At minimum, there should be designated out-of-state contact persons who can relay messages if direct communication isn’t possible.
At Seaside Staffing Company, we recommend families create written hurricane protocols that are reviewed with household staff at the beginning of every storm season. Don’t assume your estate manager remembers the plan from last year or knows what you expect. Go through it together every May, update it as needed, verify supplies are ready, and make sure everyone is clear on their responsibilities.
Pool maintenance changes during storm season. Your pool should be maintained at proper chemical levels but kept slightly lower than normal capacity to accommodate heavy rain without overflowing. Pool equipment should be secured or shut off before storms. Furniture and accessories need to be stored. Some families drain pools partially before major storms, which requires advance coordination with pool services.
Trees and landscaping need pre-season assessment. Your estate manager should coordinate with arborists to evaluate trees for storm risk – dead branches that could fall, trees that are diseased or unstable, vegetation that’s overgrown and could damage structures in high winds. This maintenance should happen before storm season, not during it. Trees that fall during hurricanes often cause more damage to homes than the wind itself.
Insurance documentation and property inventory become important if you suffer damage. Your house manager should photograph or video your property and possessions before storm season, document any pre-existing damage, and know where insurance policies are kept. If you need to file a claim after a storm, having this documentation ready makes the process much faster and more successful.
Post-storm protocols are just as important as pre-storm prep. Your staff need to know what to do after a hurricane passes – when it’s safe to go outside, how to assess damage, who to contact for emergency repairs, how to document damage for insurance, and how to handle immediate safety issues like downed power lines or flooding. The period right after a storm can be more dangerous than the storm itself if people don’t know proper safety procedures.
Staff safety always comes first. You’re not expecting your household staff to stay at your property if they need to evacuate for their own safety. You’re not asking them to take unreasonable risks during or after storms. Their job is to prepare your property as much as possible given the time available, then protect themselves. Make this explicitly clear so your staff don’t feel pressured to be heroes.
Some families provide storm pay or hazard pay for household staff who stay to secure property or who work during post-storm cleanup. This recognizes that hurricane preparation and recovery requires extra work during genuinely stressful and sometimes dangerous conditions. Other families are flexible about work schedules after storms, recognizing that staff might be dealing with damage to their own homes or family emergencies.
Fuel availability becomes critical before storms. Gas stations run out quickly when evacuation is likely. Your estate manager should keep vehicles fueled and have extra fuel properly stored for generators. Some families maintain fuel supplies year-round specifically for hurricane preparedness. Trying to fill up your car or get generator fuel when a storm is 24 hours away means waiting in lines for hours or finding everything sold out.
Prescription medications and medical supplies need to be stocked if anyone in your household requires them. Your house manager should make sure you have at least a two-week supply of any critical medications before storm season starts. Pharmacies may be closed for extended periods after major storms, and resupply can take days or weeks.
At Seaside Staffing Company, we see significant difference between households that are prepared and households that aren’t. The prepared households have annual storm prep meetings, maintain supplies, know their protocols, and execute efficiently when storms threaten. The unprepared households scramble, panic, make mistakes, and end up with much more damage than necessary because they didn’t take preparation seriously.
Mental health and stress management matter too. Hurricane season creates anxiety for household staff who’ve lived through major storms. The constant monitoring of weather, the stress of preparation, the uncertainty about when the next big storm will hit – it wears on people. Being understanding about anxiety during storm season, supporting staff mental health, and recognizing that this is genuinely stressful helps retain staff through what can be a difficult six months every year.
Living in Miami means accepting that hurricane season is part of life from June through November. Your household staff are critical to protecting your property when storms threaten, and equipping them with proper training, clear protocols, necessary supplies, and advance planning makes all the difference between successful storm preparation and chaotic last-minute scrambling. Take hurricane preparedness seriously, invest the time and money to do it right, and support your staff through what can be genuinely frightening and stressful situations. The goal is to keep everyone safe and minimize damage to your property, and both of those goals require serious preparation that starts long before there’s a storm in the forecast.
