ARE WE TOO COMPLACENT ABOUT HURRICANE PREPARATION?

ARE WE TOO COMPLACENT ABOUT HURRICANE PREPARATION?

  1. Evacuation:

Mandatory evacuation means just that. If you don’t leave, no one will be permitted to risk their lives to come and rescue you. When the National Weather Service announces that you are in the predicted path of a Category 3, 4 or 5 hurricane, you should consider evacuation mandatory, preferably at least 48 hours before the storm’s arrival. The earlier, the better. The roads become jammed, traffic can come to a total stop, and the crush is greatest just as the storm arrives.

Decide well in advance where you would go in case of an evacuation. Issues to be considered include:

  • Location of evacuation routes on the Broward County Emergency Management website (http://www.broward.org/hurricane)
  • Stay close to home or inland. Seek out friends or family in such locations to help in the selection of a suitable site. Do not go farther than necessary, but get away from the water. Efforts to flee north may be impossible with clogged highways.
  • REMEMBER: Pets may not be allowed in emergency shelters for health and space reasons. Decide in advance what you will do about that.
    • Travel should be in the daylight if at all possible.
    • Consider air travel away from the Florida area.

 

When evacuating:

  • Take your ‘survival kit’ items such as those listed above.
  • Empty the refrigerator and freezer.
  • Take important documents:
  • Driver’s license
  • Insurance policies
  • Property inventory
  • Proof of property ownership
  • Passport
  • Lock up unit before departing, and be sure to take your front door key!

 

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