Hurricane Season is Upon Us – Be Ready!
The 2011 hurricane season began on June 1 and it will run through the end of November. Hurricanes are the most dangerous of all natural disasters as they can injure thousands of people each year. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration or NOAA predicts that there will be up to 18 tropical storms of which up to ten could become hurricanes with three to six of those possibly become Category 3 or stronger.
If you live in a hurricane-prone area, now is the time to prepare your home and family. You should have storm shutters on your house and be ready to take outdoor items inside. It is also advisable to keep a hurricane preparedness kit packed which includes batteries, flashlights, radio, blankets, medications, non-perishable food items, can opener and fresh water. You also should make a “take-along box” that has everything you need to put your life back together in the tragic event that you lose everything. Your passports, birth certificates, insurance policies and other such documents should be included. If you do not wish to take the original copies with you, make copies and store the originals someplace out of range of the hurricane such as in a safety deposit box at your bank.
Sitting down with your family now to discuss a disaster plan is a very good idea. We learned many hard lessons from Hurricane Katrina so be sure that you designate an out-of-town contact person everyone can call in the case that you are not together at the time a storm strikes. Show everyone in the family whom is over the age of 12 how to turn off your home’s utilities. If you do not know how to do this, call the gas or electric company and ask as you do not want to waste any precious time when a storm is approaching.
It is essential to know your city’s evacuation routes. Be sure to stay abreast of the news when you know a storm is approaching. It is always best to be safe than sorry so leave your home before you are told to evacuate as you will avoid traffic snarl-ups. If you wait until the last possible moment, you could end up sitting at the end of your street waiting to get on the main roads out of town.
