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| Crystal Beach after Hurricane Ike in 2008 - Credit NOAA |
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Although Hurricane Preparedness week runs through tomorrow (May 11th), we'll look at the last few days as a group, in hopes that it will inspire you to use this weekend to cement your preparations.
Already this week we've looked at:
National Hurricane Preparedness Week: Day 1 - Determine Your Risk
National Hurricane Preparedness Week: Day 2 - Develop an Evacuation Plan
National Hurricane Preparedness Week: Day 3 - Assemble Your Supplies
For National Hurricane Preparedness Week: Day 4, Weather.gov urges everyone to get an insurance check-up.
Call your insurance company or agent and ask for an insurance check-up to make sure you have enough homeowners insurance to repair or even replace your home. Don’t forget coverage for your car or boat. Remember, standard homeowners insurance doesn’t cover flooding. Whether you’re a homeowner or renter, you’ll need a separate policy for it, and it’s available through your company, agent or the National Flood Insurance Program at floodsmart.gov. Act now as flood insurance requires a 30-day waiting period.
- FLASH Insurance Guide: If Disaster Strikes, Will You Be Covered?
- Find available coverage at floodsmart.gov
Day 5 is devoted to preparing your house or business to withstand a hurricane, or at least minimize damage.
Thursday, May 9th
If you plan to ride out the storm in your home, make sure it is in good repair and up to local hurricane building code specifications. Many of these retrofits do not cost much or take as long to do as you may think. Have the proper plywood, steel or aluminum panels to board up the windows and doors. Remember, the garage door is the most vulnerable part of the home, so it must be able to withstand the winds.
FEMA Mitigation
FLASH: Prepare your home
FLASH How-To Videos:
Protect Your Home From Flooding Video (English/Spanish)
Up until the 1970s, it was pretty much standard advice to homeowners to tape plate glass windows to keep them from shattering, but that advice was discredited, and has not been part of hurricane prep advice for 30 years.
Not only does taping windows provide a false sense of security, it can bind shards of flying glass into larger, and more dangerous, projectiles.Still, the myth hangs on, and you'll see people busily taping windows in advance of a storm.
A video that I’ve highlighted in the past, from the Pinellas County Office of Emergency Management demonstrates just how useless masking, or duct taping your your windows really is during a storm (be patient, it can take a minute to load).
Tape Strikes Out
Time: 4 min.
When a storm blows in, you put masking tape on your windows and you're fine right? We'll show you just how wrong that assumption can be.
Day 6 is all about helping your neighbors. In my Post Irma Update, in September of 2017, I described some of the (relatively minor) things I did in this regard following the storm.
Many Americans rely on their neighbors after a disaster, but there are also many ways you can help your neighbors before a hurricane approaches. Learn about all the different actions you and your neighbors can take to prepare and recover from the hazards associated with hurricanes. Start the conversation now with these Neighbor Helping Neighbor strategies.
Nearly 1 person in 10 in the United States lives alone. That’s roughly 27 million adults.
Add to that the number of households with one adult caring for one or more minor children or caring for elderly, disabled, or otherwise unable to fend-for-themselves individuals, and the number goes up dramatically.People who live alone, or who are the sole responsible adult in a household, have the greatest need to establish some kind of disaster `safety net’ with friends, relatives, or neighbors.
And the best way is by arranging to have (and to be) a `Disaster Buddy’.A `Disaster Buddy’ is simply someone you have prearranged that you can call on during a crisis, and who in turn, can call on you if they need help (see NPM11: Disaster Buddies).
I have several Disaster Buddies, and have been both the recipient, and provider, of help over the years. I can think of no better insurance than knowing there's someone you can call in an emergency, who will have your back.
Tomorrow is Day 7, and Weather.gov's advice is to take everything you've learned from the first 6 days, and write a hurricane (or disaster) 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.
We've looked at the importance of a written disaster plan before, including prearranged meet-up places if you are separated from your group (see #NatlPrep : Create A Family Communications Plan), and having an EMERGENCY MEDICAL HISTORY CARD in your wallet (see Reminder: Thanksgiving Is National Family History Day).
You'll find a plethora of hurricane preparedness resources on the Ready.gov Hurricane page, to aid you in your preparations.
Whether you are preparing for hurricane season, or live in earthquake country, or are engaged in general preparedness - the goal is the same.
Being prepared to weather a prolonged disaster, where help may be slow in arriving and local resources may be limited, with the most safety and comfort possible.And given the unpredictability of our world, it is never too soon to start.
