Hurricane Preparedness
As the Atlantic hurricane season starts, all of the talking head newscasters will be predicting doom and gloom for the entire Gulf Coast region until November. There will be footage from Katrina played over and over again and “experts” will give their opinions on how active they think the storm season will be and what we should do for hurricane preparedness. Since they are rarely correct, I can’t figure out how they get this gig year after year.
Most of us now have those plastic tubs filled with all of the things we would want to bring with us in the event of an evacuation of the city. Family photos, marriage licenses, school records. Maybe even a pre-paid credit card or some cash stashed away (you do remember that ATMs don’t work when there is no power, right?).
One of my clients has what she calls her Hurricane Preparedness Book. It’s a binder she compiled with all of the information she needs in an emergency such as:
- Phone numbers of hotels in every direction from the city including those that are pet friendly
- Evacuation routes and contra-flow maps
- Hurricane tracking maps
- Copies of insurance policies
- A list of all creditors, account numbers, and phone numbers
- Veterinary records for her dogs
If an evacuation is called, she can grab her binder, book a hotel and be out of here before I’ve even remembered where I put my plastic tub. It’s a great idea that she assured me I could borrow and share.
The bottom line is preparedness. I don’t need to reinvent the wheel, so here are some sites with information on preparing for a storm:
- What to put in your disaster supply kit
- How to secure your home
- National Flood Insurance Information
Do you have a creative idea for storm preparation or evacuation plans? Feel free to share it in a comment!
