I remember when Hurricane Florence was barreling towards the east coast. I’m a couple of hours inland from Myrtle Beach and I was praying that the hurricane would turn and go back out to sea. However, you always need to be prepared. These 5 Simple Ways to Prepare for a Hurricane will help you and your pets stay safe.
Last year, I was visiting my dad when Hurricane Michael hit. It wasn’t supposed to come that far into south Georgia, but it did. I’ve never been through anything like that before and hope to never go through it again.
The hurricane came through around midnight. My dad lives in a pecan orchard and we could hear those big trees falling. It was a horrible experience. Below is a photo I took of my car the next morning, hemmed in by two massive trees.
My dad lost many pecan trees. We were without water and electricity for almost two weeks. Thankfully, we were prepared.
I’ve watched reporters interviewing people on our coast who have chosen to ride out a hurricane and stay put. I don’t understand anyone desiring to stay in a place that has been evacuated.
Unfortunately, sometimes predictions are wrong (like with Michael), so it pays to be prepared just in case.
Yes, oftentimes the weatherman gets it all wrong, but what if he’s right? Please evacuate if so ordered. It’s always better to be safe than sorry.
Let’s look at 5 simple ways to prepare for a hurricane.
1. Have an evacuation plan in place.
You should also have a plan for your pets. If you are evacuating with a pet, visit petswelcome.com for a list of animal-friendly places to stay in your area.
Don’t wait until the last minute to evacuate. Plan ahead!
2. Have the essentials on hand (before they sell out).
- Battery-powered radio and batteries
- Flashlight and batteries
- First Aid Kit
- Bottled Water
- Food – Visit Direct Energy to download a complete Hurricane grocery list.
- Cash
- Prescription medications
3. Check Home & Auto Insurance Coverage
4. Make Copies of Important Documents
Place copies of important documents and store in a waterproof container.
5. Prepare Your Home
- Cover windows with plywood and add extra security to doors.
- Secure all outdoor furniture. Bring children’s toys, bicycles, etc. inside.
- Turn freezer and refrigerator to lowest settings in order to preserve food longer in case of a power outage.
- Unplug all small appliances.
- Make sure your laptop and phones are fully charged.
Stay informed and heed the directions of the Red Cross and government officials. Do not walk, drive or swim through floodwaters.
For more safety and preparedness tips, please visit AccuWeather.com/Ready.
Another handy resource is this Hurricane Seasonal Preparedness Digital Toolkit.
What additional ideas do you have to prepare for a hurricane?
7 comments
Hi Alli,
Thanks for sharing the post, this is really informative. But what about other Insurance Policy like Flood Insurance, I suppose Home Insurance Policy doesn’t give much coverage for Floods they are minor flood coverages. What do you say?
Thanks
Adam Wyatt
Having just endured Florence, I can’t stress enough how important that people take pet planning for hurricanes seriously. We have 3 dogs and were definitely not prepared because where we are in NC in was never really a major issue. But you never know what mother nature will do so much better to be prepared and not need it then be scrambling at the last minute when you realize you need to evacuate.
Anyhow, great post and keep up the great content!
Those are some really useful and amazing tips. Thanks for sharing the knowledge!
I will definitely take note that households should cover windows with plywood and add extra security to doors. In my opinion, they should make sure that their roofs can withstand hurricanes. My suggestion to homeowners is to find a hurricane roofing contractor as soon as possible. Hiring one to set up a special kind that is impervious to this weather pattern can help minimize the damages done to the home.
I do find it helpful that looking through online listings of pet boarding sites can help keep pets safe during storms such as this one. In my opinion, another way to keep them safe is to send them to a pet service regularly. Doing this will keep them healthy so that they can have enough energy to brave the storm with or without their owners.
Thanks for sharing such a great post.
Everyone should be aware of this! Thanks.