Part 2
Welcome back to our 4 week special on preparing for hurricane season. Last week we touched upon two points, point one was to make sure all your important documents are together and in a safe place including a copy of your homeowners insurance policy as you will need it on hand if you need to file a hurricane damage claim. The other point we touched on was to make sure to stock up on essential food and water with an eye on getting items with a long shelf life as there may be a chance you are without electric or under a state of emergency for a while which might restrict your access to food or water.
Hurricane season in Florida occurs between the months of June and November. Unfortunately living in Florida could potentially place us in the path of a potentially devastating tropical storm or Hurricane. In September of 2017 Hurricane Irma ran rampant right up the middle of the state leaving in its wake over 130 people dead and $100+ million in property damages.
In this 4 week series we will go through step by step things we have learned from living through multiple
hurricanes including the most recent hurricanes, Irma and Michael.
This week we will be going over two more important hurricane preparation steps to try and help you protect your family during a time of uncertainty.
As of April 2020 the prediction for this year’s hurricane season is not looking good, with a 30% increase in predicted hurricane activity.
Step 3
Know your evacuation route before disaster hits.
Become familiar with your evacuation route before something happens, as once there is a hurricane bearing down on the state of Florida people tend to hit the roads en mass. Knowing your evacuation route beforehand will really payoff and help navigate the madness that is hurricane evacuation.
KNOW YOUR ZONE: There are 40 counties with “Designated Evacuation Zones“ in Florida. Four Central Florida counties have the designation: Brevard, Lake, Volusia and Flagler.
- Stay in Place. The first type of evacuation is known as stay in place and is used during a chemical or biological attack. …
- Building Evacuation. The second type of evacuation is a building evacuation. Tall building are the first to be evacuate as large building are prone to be impacted harder during a hurricane r tropical storm.
- Campus Evacuation. The third type of evacuation is a campus evacuation. In the event of a hurricane, all students are strongly encouraged to seek appropriate shelter off campus for the duration of the storm
- City Evacuation. Full lock down and evacuation of the area that are predicted to be hit.
Step 2.
Make sure you have a fully stocked first aid kit.
Having a fully stocked first aid kit can be the difference between fixing a simple cut or injury and something that could get a lot worse if it wasn’t taken care of in right way.
By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail. Being that most of us are suck at home due to the noval coronavirus otherwise known as covid-19 there is no better time then the present to take take 5 minuets a day to prepare for the upcoming hurricane season. This could be as simple as jumping on Amazon and buy a first aid kit etc.
Listen for National Weather Service alerts on TV or radio or check for them online. There are two kinds of alerts:
- A hurricane watch means hurricane conditions (sustained winds of 74 miles per hour mph or higher) are possible in a stated area. Experts announce hurricane watches 48 hours before they expect tropical-storm-force winds (sustained winds of 39 to 73 mph) to start.
- A hurricane warning is more serious. It means hurricane-force winds are expected in a stated area. Experts issue these warnings 36 hours before tropical-storm-force winds are expected in the area to give people enough time to prepare for the storm.
For more information about hurricane watches and warnings, check out the National Weather Service’s Hurricane Centerexternal icon. If you hear that there is a hurricane watch or warning in your area, so you can take the appropriate steps to get ready.