I live in Colorado where wildfires are a very scary and frequent occurrence in the mountains. But a few years ago, during a particularly dry season, a fire sparked near the city and fueled by 100+mph winds, tore through the suburbs next to ours. As we received evacuation notices, I was beyond thankful I had taken the time to digitize and properly backup my photos so they weren’t a consideration in that very panicked moment. Here are a few high-level steps to help you protect your photos from natural disaster.

How to Protect Your Photos from Natural Disasters

1. Store your digital photos in the cloud.

Listen, in this age of technology with cloud storage readily available, there is no reason to put yourself at risk, running back into a fire or flood to save physical devices.

Pick a cloud service (you’re probably already paying for at least one!) and upload all of your digital photo sources there. If you need step-by-step help with this, my Backup Bootcamp course walks through it in detail for both Mac and PC users.

If this feels too big, here’s how to start small:

Install Backblaze on your computer. It can create a cloud-based backup of the entire computer and external drives you have attached to it. (Note: this isn’t my personal favorite backup method, but it’s the fastest and easiest option if you just need something! When you’re ready to actually organize your digital photo collection and set up a more user-friendly cloud solution, Backup Bootcamp walks through it.)

2. Digitize your physical photos.

I know you’ve been thinking you ‘should’ digitize those boxes of photos and photo albums someday and it’s never been a priority. But the reality is, disaster can strike any time. You could be on vacation when the flood starts, across town and unable to get home because fire is blocking the roads… there are no guarantees. Don’t count on being able to evacuate your physical memories- digitize them now.

Purchase a high-speed scanner (this is the one I recommend) and start creating digital copies of your physical photos. The scanner can also handle documents. This task is easy, but time consuming. I love to scan in front of a good Netflix series.

I know this article has a serious and scary tone, but digitizing your old memories is FUN! You get to uncover long-forgotten memories. Make time to do this. If you need step-by-step help with scanning, my Organizing Old Photos course walks through it.

What about negatives, slides, oversized items like scrapbooks, etc? I recommend outsourcing this to a company with more equipment to handle these items. You can learn about my scanning services here.

Don’t forget about your videos! If you have VHS tapes, film reels, or other outdated media, you can convert those to digital formats as well. They’re equally at risk. I can help with those as well.

If this feels too big, here’s how to start small:

Install the Photo Scanner app on your phone and scan your most important photos for basically free. You can read more tips about scanning with your phone here.

3. Use smarter storage solutions.

As you work on creating digital copies of your physical photos and storing them in the cloud, consider how you can protect your physical photos through smarter storage solutions.

Store your photos in temperature controlled rooms, above ground (the higher the better if floods are a risk). Precious photos should not be stored in an attic, garage, or basement as the extreme temperatures and humidity will cause damage over time.

Upgrade your cardboard storage boxes to something more water resistant. And consider using fireproof document storage bags to hold important items. While these will not withstand a wildfire, they may protect from smaller incidents and they give you easy grab-and-go access in the event of an evacuation.

If this feels too big, here’s how to start small:

When you are not in a state of urgency, take a moment to name what items matter most to you. One thing that surprised me, when I received those evacuation orders, was how my brain completely stopped functioning. I couldn’t name what mattered most, much less find it to pack in the car. So in a calm moment, create a Note on your phone listing the photos and physical items that matter most to you and where they’re stored. If the worst happens, you’ll have this note to help you take action.

Disasters turn lives upside down with very little warning so taking steps to protect your photos from natural disaster ensures that your family’s memories are safe no matter what happens. By digitizing your collection and implementing a cloud-based backup system, you can feel prepared if that moment comes.

*This post contains affiliate links which means I will receive a small commission if you make a purchase based on my recommendation.