PLAN AHEAD AND BE PREPARED

Prepare, Plan, and Mitigate is the slogan created by FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency).  The primary concern for families and businesses that reside in hurricane affected areas is SAFETY.  Being safe means being prepared, ensuring that there is a safe place to ride out the storm, and having a plan for rebuilding after the storm.

Not only do we want to make sure that our families and businesses survive a hurricane, but we also want to make sure that we don’t have to survive a financial storm in the aftermath of hurricane.  Surviving is important, but it is also important to survive and not incur costly repairs that can be easily avoided by being prepared.  FEMA defines MITIGATION as “the effort to reduce loss of life and property by lessening the impact of disasters. Mitigation is taking action now—before the next disaster.”

We all know about checklists.  We see them everywhere – grocery stores, TV news and weather stations, municipal offices, etc.  There are many varieties and some include more than others.  Using a checklist is a way to make sure that you have prepared your home and your family for the Hurricane season.    Dade and Broward County and the state of Florida all have excellent websites with great information on how to plan and prepare to survive a storm. 

• Miami-Dade Hurricane Information
• Broward Hurricane Preparedness Guide
• State of Florida Hurricane Guide

An emergency essentials list will help you make sure that you have everything you need.  In many cases, just being pro-active and checking off items on a list will help reduce your stress level considerably, making it easier for you to focus on your task and your safety. 

Another great preparation tip is to take photos and video of your home, your property, and your valuables.  Store these photos electronically so that you can access them easily after the storm.  By doing this, you will be able to document any claims that you will have to process with your insurance company.  In addition to the photos and video, make a detailed inventory of all your valuables.  Store these safely for easy access after the storm.

Have a plan to safeguard any personal documents such as Birth Certificates, Passports, Marriage Licenses, Driver’s license numbers, Social Security Numbers (for all family members), credit union account numbers.   Place them in a water proof bag (heavy duty zip lock bags work great) and find a safe place for them so that you can retrieve them easily after the storm.  Remember to always safeguard these documents as they contain personal information—not just when preparing for a storm.  Include a list of your family’s physicians and their phone numbers as well as any allergies and medications that your family needs.

A family emergency plan is also a valuable tool for storm survival.  This will allow you to know exactly how to contact everyone in your family.  It will provide the same emergency information to all family members, making it easy to locate shelters and assistance.

Make certain that you and your family understand what the storm warnings mean.  The NOAA, National Weather Service/National Hurricane Center issues Advisories, Watches, and Warnings:

•          Advisory: Official information issued by tropical cyclone warning centers describing all  hurricane watches and warnings in effect along with details concerning locations, intensity and movement, and precautions that should be taken.

•          Hurricane Watch: An announcement that sustained winds of 34 to 63 knots (39 to 73 mph or 63 to 118 km/hr) are possible within the specified area within 48 hours in association with a tropical, subtropical, or post-tropical cyclone

•          Hurricane Warning: An announcement that sustained winds of 34 to 63 knots (39 to 73 mph or 63 to 118 km/hr) are expected somewhere within the specified area within 36 hours in association with a tropical, subtropical, or post-tropical cyclone.

In addition to the warnings, it is important to understand how storms are tracked and how they are rated.    You will hear news advisories refer to storms by a number (1 to 5).  NOAA issues a category number to storms based on the hurricane’s sustained wind speed.

Category	Sustained Winds
1	74-95 mph (119-153 km/h)
2	96-110 mph (154-177 km/h)
3 (major)	111-129 mph (178-208 km/h)
4 (major)	130-156 mph (209-251 km/h)
5 (major)	157 mph or higher (252 km/h or higher)

Names are assigned to storms in alphabetical order.  The names for the 2013 storms are: Andrea, Barry, Chantal, Dorian, Erin, Fernand, Gabrielle, Humberto, Ingrid, Jerry, Karen, Lorenzo, Melissa, Nestor, Olga, Pablo, Rebekah, Sebastien, Tanya, Van, Wendy.

If you PREPARE and PLAN, you will most definitely MITIGATE!  Your checklists and your preparation activities to safeguard your home and valuables will work in your favor after the storm passes.  You will have easy access to all your information, be able to document any damage, and most of all you will know that your family is safe. 

It is inevitable that South Florida will experience some storm activity between June 1 and November 30.  If you can’t change the inevitable, then PREPARE for it and have your PLAN in place to make it easy to survive it all!

^Steve