It is National Hurricane Preparedness Week and time to get prepared for the risk of hurricanes. If you live in areas prone to hurricanes, this is for you.
Here are a five tips you can do to get prepared to protect your family when a hurricane does strike.
Evacuation Plans
First, understand what you need to do in case of evacuation. The first question to ask yourself is, what do you need to do to evacuate your home and possibly your city? Your evacuation plan will include everyone in your family. Planning for two evacuation plans is important. One evacuation plan will include everyone in your family who is in your house. And second evacuation plan is for family members that are located in a variety of locations like work and school. When developing your evacuation plan and process, remember to consider your pets. If you have pets, it will be important to collect and take them with you or they could get hurt.
Communication Plans
As you are creating your evacuation plans, you must also establish a communication plan. You will need one communication plan that will consist of how you will gather news and information about the hurricane status so you and your family can be prepared. Your second communication plan will identify a plan for connecting with family in different locations so that you can get everyone to safety. Assign one family member the responsibility to collect other family members in different locations during a hurricane. If you do not detail these communication plan, you have a risk of miscommunication and family members could be lost during a stressful time.
Prepare a Basic Emergency Kit
Building a basic emergency kit prior to a hurricane will help you in the event of a hurricane. Adding basic staples like food that cannot easily get wet, water for drinking, and flashlights will be the foundation for your emergency kit. Next, you will need to add extra batteries (preferably in plastic bags to protect them from water damage) and a battery operated radio to hear current news. Then you will add an external power source along with a first aid kit in case of injuries.
Prepare a Specialized Emergency Kit
If you have family members that require medications or have special needs,you will need to add these medications and special needs to your emergency kit. Maybe you have a brand new baby, pack formula and diapers. If you have a heart condition and require daily medication, pack it. Same goes for your pets, if your pets have medications, pack it. Remember to pack glasses if you have bad eyesight. At your hurricane preparedness week planning discussions, bring up these special needs to protect everyone in the family.
Gain Information
Being informed prior, during and after a hurricane is very important. When you are crafting your plan, find out where you can get information in the event of a hurricane. You can use Facebook, radio, television and text notifications to get information. By staying informed, you can find the best places for shelter and roads to evacuate to get your family to safety. By using social media and radio, you will learn if you need evacuate. Radios and text messages can help you find lost family members if you could not connect. Finding the best information sources to educate yourself during a hurricane can help you potentially save the lives of your family.
For more information on Hurricane Preparedness Week or other information on how to prepare for natural disasters, please visit www.fema.gov .
