It’s a good idea to plan where you will go in the case of an emergency. This can be a family home, family friend, shelters or whoever you feel comfortable with. Getting away from the location where the storm will hit may be the best idea. This would really apply when you have a home that’s in a known flood zone or a mobile home. With a mobile home not being very stationary it can be easily pushed around by a strong storm. It’s best not to leave your home in this case and stay somewhere else that is safe for the duration of the storm. Moving away from the coast is also recommended as storms hit hard in these areas and may cause the most damage.
Before evacuating your home do make sure to have all needed documents for rebuilding your home so it will be an easier process to get the needed information for claims on damages to your property. This also applies to pets as well. Having needed vaccinations for your pet is a must if you wish to stay somewhere else like an animal friendly hotel or shelter. Having the documentation to prove they are up to date on their shots would allow the pet to stay with you while you wait out the storm or be moved to a sanctuary for animals like cattle, horses and more.
Do what is best to protect your home before you leave to help minimize damages. This could be covering windows or getting rid of debris from around your home. Putting away other items around your home is advised. These could be chairs, household cleaning items, or tables. Putting away outside furniture would also help with minimizing damages to your home and also those outside items would be safer put away.
If you plan to hunker down or leave, filling up your cars with gas would be a good idea. Gas may be harder to come by after the storm as people usually do not think about filling up their cars to a full tank or having extra gas. Having a gas can or two would help with travel after the storm and could refill your car once to at least allow you to have a little more time before you’re empty again. However, you could also use this gas for a generator that may be hooked up to your home.
Make sure to have your emergency supplies ready
If you leave or decide to stay as a storm approaches you need the possibly needed materials to get through a rough storm. It’s advised that you go ahead of time to get materials you may need in case of a storm hitting your area. It’s advised to get only what you need when you find out about the coming storm, so you have what you need and don’t need to go out in a hurry at the last moment to get what you need. These items could be any of the following:
- Food: This could be MREs, canned foods, or foods that do not easily spoil. Avoiding buying frozen or cold foods is recommended as these will spoil easily and will be hard to preserve.
- Water: Bottled water no matter the brand would do well for a storm.
- Medical supplies: Buying medical kits from the store is a must as it comes with all the needed materials for if someone gets hurt.
- Generator: It’s not a necessity but it will make things go easier if your power goes out due to the storm.
- Gasoline: Not a necessity but would go well with the generator and would help with refilling cars as you move around after the storm.
- Extra clothes: having more clothes just helps to have something to change into.
- Batteries: to recharge devices that run on batteries or battery packs to help charge a phone.
- Candles: to help light up interior rooms of a home that may not have windows or just to help not use as many batteries in the night.
- Flashlights: To help you move around in dark areas or at night
- All needed medications: you must have your medications so you can stay up to date on your intake prescribed by your doctor.
Having the needed materials will make the possible long recovery not as bad if you were not prepared for it. Most of these items that were listed can also be found in a hurricane kit. You can get these in stores to have in your home to help prepare for storms. Getting too many items or mass buying items takes away from others who may need the same supplies. Buying what you need and not in bulk allows the resources to be spread out more.
Keeping up with the forecast
Something that’s very important is to stay up to date on the latest information about the storm coming your way. If you stay informed you know when it’s possibly going to hit, where it may hit, and how strong the storm is going to be. This information would help you in your choices and preparations for what is to come. It will also give you a possible timeline of how long you have before it arrives. This time would allow you to get the materials you need and leave or hunker down for the storm.
Cites:
How to prepare for hurricane season | III
For images:
black and white kanji text signage photo – Free Covid Image on Unsplash
Kenyanna Gainer
Student Writer - Fall 2022
