Avian Flu Diary: Hurricane Preparedness Week: Day 7

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While today marks the 7th and last day of National Hurricane Preparedness Week, the work of preparing for a major hurricane (or any other disaster) never really ends. Although I've strived to live a prepared life for over a half century, I'm continually fine-tuning my preps and my plans.

Technology drives many of these changes, as the cost of LED lanterns, solar panels, and USB battery banks have continued to drop, while their capacity and quality has improved. I have long abandoned hot, smelly, and dangerous kerosene lanterns.

Over the next couple of months I'll share some of the changes I've made to my hurricane preps since my bout with Hurricane Irma in 2017. Most of these preps are generic, and would serve you well during any emergency.

Today, the emphasis is on putting together all of the lessons of the first six days of Hurricane Preparedness week, and turning it into a written plan. Not just for yourself, but also as a guide for all of the members of your household in case you become injured, incapacitated, or are otherwise unavailable.

I know many people who have created a detailed `disaster book', with everything from a family communications plan (including rendezvous points if separated), to an inventory of tools and preps (and instruction on how to use them), to a concise medical history on everyone in the household.

For some hints on how to get started, NOAA recommends:

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 who issues evacuation orders for your area, determine locations on where you will ride out the storm, and start to get your supplies now. Being prepared before a hurricane threatens makes you resilient to the hurricane impacts of wind and water. It will mean the difference between being a hurricane victim or a hurricane survivor.

FEMA Make PlanFLASH Prepare Your Home

To help you along, a list of this past week's hurricane preparedness blogs follow:

Hurricane Preparedness Week: Day 6 - Help Your Neighbors

Hurricane Preparedness Week: Day 5 - Strengthen Your Home

Hurricane Preparedness Week: Day 4 - Get An Insurance Check-up