The Takeaway: In a climate crisis, your security camera becomes the only eyes on your home and property.
Changing weather patterns are increasing the likelihood and severity of extreme events, making reliable remote monitoring critical for property protection. Few areas of the country are immune from this threat, which includes more frequent and intense hurricanes, tornadoes, droughts, floods, forest fires, and winter storms.
Owners of remote properties may be more prone to these events, and have a harder time responding to them. Secluded properties, difficult-to-access mountain homes, exposed beach retreats, and rural hunting tracts all face many of the same challenges—limited information during and after extreme weather events, difficult access on roads that are rarely maintained, and enhanced exposure to the weather itself can mean the owners of these properties lay awake wondering if they made it through, and how well.
There’s a solution to this dilemma. Cellular security cameras provide immediate, accurate verification of storm damage, allowing property owners and property managers to know immediately if there was damage due to a storm, where the damage is, how severe it is, and what resources may be needed to stabilize the property and begin a recovery—all without ever having to set foot there.
Power Outages During and After Extreme Weather Events
Broad power outages are becoming more frequent in the U.S. and Canada, particularly as strained electrical grids meet damaging storms and extreme weather. The frequency of major power outages has doubled over the course of the last 20 years, and the vast majority of all reported power outages can be attributed to a weather-related event.
As if that wasn’t bad enough, those in rural areas suffer far more frequent and prolonged power outages than those in urban areas. Exposed lines crossing raw wilderness, the preponderance of above-ground wiring, and the lack of resources among small utilities and rural electric co-ops are all to blame, with repair crews often dispatched to restore high-density urban and suburban lines first.
And when the power goes out in rural areas, it tends to stay out for longer. A J.D. Power survey showed the average length of the longest power outage has increased more than 50% in just the past few years, to nearly 13 hours.
Security Cameras as Essential Intel During Weather Events
If you own a remote property, be it a beach cabin or a mountaintop retreat, your security camera may be your only eyes on the home during a severe weather event.
More than a third of Americans report having evacuated from their home due to a major storm, and more than three-quarters of those monitored their property remotely during and after the evacuation. Flooring was a top concern, followed by structural damage and break-ins. Cameras provide real-time visibility during disasters, allowing property owners to monitor not just homes but also infrastructure, and evidence from the cameras can be easily integrated with insurance claims and emergency response personnel.
The Challenge of Wall-Powered Wi-Fi Security Cameras for Remote Property Storm Assessment
Unfortunately, those who are relying on a doorbell camera or traditional home Wi-Fi security camera for remote storm assessment may be in for a rude awakening. With power down, perhaps for days, those cameras won’t switch on, and even when they do, the property’s Wi-Fi may require a hard reset—an impossible task when you’re a state away and access to the property is blocked by flooded roads, downed trees, or waist-high drifts.
Off-grid, solar-powered cellular security cameras from Tactacam DEFEND solve these problems.
DEFEND cameras operate on 4G cellular networks thanks to a built-in eSIM that automatically connects to the strongest cell signal available. Cell towers are designed to withstand multiple failure scenarios, and often have multiple redundant connections and service lines, something that Wi-Fi providers can’t offer, especially in remote areas.
DEFEND cameras also offer long-lasting batteries with solar options, meaning your cameras can continue to record and send motion-activated, on-demand, or live view photos and videos when other systems simply give up.
DEFEND Cellular Security Cameras
DEFEND has two cellular security cameras, and both permit remote viewing and assessment of properties during and after storms:
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DEFEND 360: Tactacam’s flagship cellular security camera has 360-degree pan/tilt/zoom capability, and includes a rechargeable battery and solar panel for truly wireless 24/7/365 4G surveillance.
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DEFEND Cam: Tactacam’s original workhorse, this fixed POV cam is simple to operate and has 4K photo definition with a 100-foot flash range. It can be augmented with a rechargeable battery and solar panel.