2017 Atlantic Hurricane Season – Preparation Tips
The Atlantic Hurricane season begins June 1, 2017 and runs through November 30, 2017. The following information is being provided in advance of this year’s season to assist our community with preparation efforts should a Tropical Cyclone event threaten our City. Last year Hurricane Matthew impacted our City and that storm should serve as a reminder that Tropical Storms are highly unpredictable and they can pose a serious threat to our community.
Family Preparedness Tips
- To begin preparing, you should build an emergency kit and make a family communications plan. Don’t forget a plan for your pet(s).
- Cover all of your home’s windows. Permanent storm shutters offer the best protection for windows. A second option is to board up windows with 5/8” marine plywood, cut to fit and ready to install. Tape does not prevent windows from breaking.
- Be sure trees and shrubs around your home are well trimmed so they are more wind resistant.
- Clear loose and clogged rain gutters and downspouts. Reinforce your garage doors; if wind enters a garage it can cause dangerous and expensive structural damage.
- Plan to bring in all outdoor furniture, decorations, garbage cans and anything else that is not tied down.
- Determine how and where to secure your boat.
- Install a generator for emergencies and test the generator before a storm.
- Get any cash you may need before banks close (ATM’s may not work due to loss of electricity).
- Locate and place important documents in a waterproof container.
- Charge your cell phone battery as well as camera battery in case you need to take pictures of property damage. Keep a cell phone charger in your vehicle.
- Fill up your vehicle’s gas tank because if there is a power outage in your area, gas pumps won’t work.
- First sanitize and then fill your bathtubs, sinks and other containers with water for sanitary usage.
- To keep food fresh, turn the settings on your refrigerator & freezer to their highest settings in case of a power outage.
- Turn off and unplug any non-essential electrical equipment in your house.
Know a Safe Place to Take Your Pet(s)
- Local and State health and safety regulations do not permit the Red Cross to allow pets in disaster shelters. (Service animals are allowed in Red Cross shelters.)
- Contact hotels and motels outside your local area to check their policies on accepting pets and restrictions on number, size and species. Ask if “no pet” policies can be waived in an emergency. Keep a list of “pet friendly” places, including phone numbers, with your disaster supplies.
- Ask friends, relatives or others outside the affected area whether they could shelter your animals.
- Make a list of boarding facilities and veterinarians who could shelter animals in an emergency; include twenty-four (24) hour phone numbers.
- Ask local animal shelters if they provide emergency shelter or foster care for pets during a disaster.
Should you have any questions about the tips listed above, please feel free to contact Chief Doughney at (386) 517-2020.
Additional Hurricane preparedness information can be obtained by accessing any of the following websites;
FEMA website: http://www.fema.gov/
FEMA for the Disabled & Elderly: http://www.fema.gov/news-release/2006/05/03/disabled-elderly-need-prepare-hurricanes
Red Cross website: http://www.redcross.org/prepare/location/home-family
Humane Society: http://www.humanesociety.org/issues/animal_rescue/tips/pets-disaster.html#.U2vnPNTD-70