Whenever severe weather arrives in the D.C. area, the name of the game is to play it safe. And after this summer’s abnormally wet weather, local officials are giving tips on exactly how to do that.

Any safety official would tell you to be extremely cautious if an electrical pole or tree comes down near you or your property — even more so during severe winds and thunderstorms like Monday’s weather maker in the D.C. region.

The Takoma Park Police Department in Maryland advises not walking under or around trees where limbs are dangling or a trunk is leaning — one false move could cause it to come crashing down.

The department also said to report any power line problems to your local utility company who will be able to send a work crew of qualified technicians to come fix the damage.

Stay away from uprooted trees too, because there could be underground utility damage. And while cleaning up your yard after a storm, never remove trees or cut any limbs. Leave that to the professionals; under your home insurance policy, you should be covered for the damages.

WTOP’s Sandra Jones contributed to this report.