Preparing for a Hurricane –Dos and Don’ts

Why is hurricane preparation so important? In Florida state and federal will issue alerts and then a warning is usually 36 hours before anything happens. It’s true, authorities try to do their best to warn and help the population reach a safe place before all hell breaks loose, but if you and your family are prepared and know what to do you can go and help someone else who is (maybe) in a lot more trouble.

Hurricanes are preceded by panic, disorganization and total craziness and followed by suffering and losses. These are some pretty difficult situations that authorities have to put up with and it’s nice to try and make their job a little easier. And, at the end of the day, who doesn’t want to know that their family is prepared in case of an emergency situation?

Even though the warnings are issued with 48 to 36 hours before the hurricane strikes, the warning was preceded by alerts, the wind is already pretty strong and the rain is falling heavily. There is no sure way of predicting what a hurricane might do. This is why it is very important to be prepared: knowledge is power and you definitely will want your family members to have that power. You should not let your family become a burden simply because you don’t believe in preparedness!

In order to help with your hurricane preparedness checklist we put together a few dos and don’ts that might prove very useful:

• Start preparing with a few weeks before the hurricane season.
• Check your old hurricane supplies and refresh the ones that need to. Check expiration dates on cans, first aid kits, juice boxes, etc.
• Don’t hide your emergency kit in a place that is hard to reach – you’ll need it in handy.
• Don’t take foods that need cooking with you. Canned and dried foods are the best solution.
• Build a plan and involve your family. This way they will understand it and they’ll know how to act in a difficult situation.
• Think about evacuation situation – where will you stay if you have to evacuate? Contact your friends and family and find out if they can host you.
• Discuss different scenarios with your family members. For example, what to do if you get separated and how to find each other.
• Don’t overthink it. Create simple strategies that are easy to follow and understand.
• Stay informed. Teach your children which radio station to listen in order to get updates on the storm.
• Don’t wait until the last minute to buy hurricane supplies. In a crisis situation store shelves empty rapidly and you might be the one who didn’t make it in time to the store.

Although this is a rather short list, compared to the seriousness of a hurricane, it covers the basics. We also hope that it’s a wakeup call for people who live in hurricane the most hurricane affected area in the world. Please realize that a hurricane is a very serious situation.

EMERGE INSURANCE AGENCY / 904-677-5884

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