Completing Your Written Hurricane Plan
The time to prepare for a hurricane is before the season begins, when you have the time and are not under pressure. If you wait until a hurricane is on your doorstep, the odds are that you will be under duress and will make the wrong decisions. Take the time now to write down your hurricane plan. Know where you will ride out the storm and get your supplies now. You don’t want to be standing in long lines when a hurricane warning is issued. Those supplies that you need will probably be sold out by the time you reach the front of the line. Being prepared, before a hurricane threatens, makes you resilient to the hurricane impacts of wind and water. It will mean the difference between your being a hurricane victim and a hurricane survivor.
Here are some things to know about completing a written hurricane plan:
- Writing down your plan will ensure you don’t make mistakes when faced with an emergency.
- Document all of your valuables and possessions with a camera or video camera well before thestorm.
- Gather all vital documents, like passports and medical records, and put them somewhere thatyou can quickly access.
- Make planning and preparedness a family affair to ensure everyone knows what to do.
- Don’t forget to include your pets in your plan.
- Every plan should include gathering non-perishable emergency supplies and assembling adisaster supply kit.
- Share your plan with others in your family, and have an out-of-state friend as a family contactwho knows your plan and where you will go during a disaster, so all your family members have a single point of contact.To make developing your family emergency plan easy, be sure to download a free template that is available online at http://readync.org.For more information about hurricane preparedness, please visit the following web sites:• http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/prepare
• http://www.readync.org