Hurricane Survival Tips


Are You Ready

If you have not prepared for the 2007 Hurricane Season,

NOW IS THE TIME,

NOT WHEN A HURRICANE COMES KNOCKING ON YOUR DOOR!!!!!!!!

Before the Hurricane Season
  1. Know the hurricane risks in your area, e.g., determine whether you live in a potential flood zone.
  2. Learn safe routes inland.
  3. Find out where official shelters are located.
  4. Develop a family hurricane action plan.
  5. Review working condition of emergency equipment, such as flashlights and battery-powered radios.
  6. Ensure you have enough nonperishable food and water supplies on hand.
  1. Trim trees and shrubbery.
  2. Buy plywood or shutters to protect doors and windows.
  3. Clear loose and clogged rain gutters and downspouts.
  4. Determine where to move your boat in an emergency.
  5. Check policies to see if you have flood and wind insurance.
  6. Know your community safety plan.
Before the Storm
When in a Watch Area...
  1. Frequently listen to radio, TV or NOAA Weather Radio for official bulletins of the storm&146s progress.
  2. Fuel and service family vehicles.
  3. Inspect and secure mobile home tie downs.
  4. Have extra cash on hand.
  1. Prepare to cover all windows and doors with shutters or other shielding materials.
  2. Check batteries and stock up on canned food, first-aid supplies, drinking water and medications.
  3. Bring in light-weight objects such as garbage cans, garden tools, toys and lawn furniture.
Plan to leave if you...
  1. Live in a mobile home. They are unsafe in high winds no matter how well fastened to the ground.
  2. Live on the coastline, an offshore island, or near a river or a flood plain.
  1. Live in a high-rise building. Hurricane winds are stronger at higher elevations.
During the Storm
When in a Warning Area...
  1. Listen closely to radio, TV or NOAA Weather Radio for official bulletins.
  2. Complete preparation activities, such as putting up storm shutters, storing loose objects, etc.
  3. Follow instructions issued by local officials. Leave immediately if told to do so!
  4. Leave mobile homes.
  1. If evacuating, leave early (if possible, in daylight). Stay with friends or relatives, stay at a low-rise inland hotel/motel, or go to a predesignated public shelter outside a flood zone.
  2. Notify neighbors and a family member outside of the warned area of your evacuation plans.
  3. Take pets with you. Leaving pets behind is likely to result in their being injured, lost or killed.
What to Bring to a Shelter
  1. First-aid kit
  2. Prescription medicines
  3. Baby food and diapers
  4. Cards, games, books
  5. Toiletries
  6. Battery-powered radio
  1. Flashlight (one per person)
  2. Extra batteries
  3. Blankets or sleeping bags
  4. Identification
  5. Valuable papers (insurance)
  6. Credit card or cash
If staying in a home...

Only stay in a home if you have NOT been ordered to leave. Stay inside a well constructed building. Examine the building and decide what you will do if winds become strong enough to produce deadly missiles and structural failure.

  1. Turn refrigerator to its coldest setting and keep closed.
  2. Turn off utilities if told to do so by authorities.
  3. Turn off propane tanks.
  1. Unplug small appliances.
  2. Fill bathtub and large containers with water for sanitary purposes.
In strong winds...
  1. Stay away from windows and doors even if they are covered. Take refuge in a small interior room, closet or hallway.
  2. Close all interior doors. Secure and brace external doors.
  3. In a two-story house, go to an interior first-floor room, such as a bathroom or closet.
  1. In a multiple-story building, go to the first or second floors and stay in interior rooms away from windows.
  2. Lie on the floor under a table or another sturdy object.
After the Storm

After a hurricane hits, please make sure that you continue to heed what your local officals say, as they may have important information. Please stay out of the way of emergency vehicles and do not use your phones for an extended period as with power being out it could possibly overload the cell providers towers that are being used for everything from emergency calls to calls out to let your contacts know that you are ok.

Beware of snakes, insects, and animals driven to higher ground by floodwater. If your home had flooding nearby you may come home to animals in your house or yard, so please be careful of them. Do not touch downed power lines as they may still be live and can kill you. If there is standing water with a downed wire in it, DO NOT CROSS as it can still shock you. If you were evacuted from your house, do not return until local officals have declared the are safe to return to.

  1. Listen to radio, TV or NOAA Weather Radio.
  2. Keep abreast of road conditions through the media. Wait until an area is declared safe before entering.
  3. Do not attempt to drive across flowing water. As little as 6&150 of water may cause you to lose control of your vehicle&1502 feet of water will carry most cars away.
  4. If you see water flowing across a roadway, TURN AROUND AND GO ANOTHER WAY. Many people have been killed or injured driving through flooded roadways or around barricades. Roads are closed for your protection.
  5. Stay away from moving water. Moving water even 6&148 deep can sweep you away.
  6. Do not allow children, especially under age 13, to play in flooded areas. They often drown or are injured in areas appearing safe.
  1. If someone needs to be rescued, call professionals with the right equipment to help. Many people have been killed or injured trying to rescue others in flooded areas.
  2. Stay away from standing water. It may be electrically charged from underground or downed power lines.
  3. Have professionals check gas, water and electrical lines and appliances for damage.
  4. Use a flashlight for emergency lighting. Never use candles and other open flames indoors.
  5. Use tap water for drinking and cooking only when local officials say it is safe to do so.
  6. Use the telephone only for emergency calls.