Making a Hurricane Safety Evacuation Plan
During hurricane season, coastal-living people must be constantly on their toes when it comes to potential hurricane safety situations. In case you don’t have an evacuation plan set or need to reacquaint your family with your plan, we will touch on some important aspects.
First of all, when it comes to a hurricane safety evacuation situation, plan ahead of time where you and your family will go. Take some time to research hotels or relatives within a safe driving distance from potential storms. Talk to your family about hosting you in the case of an emergency storm protection need. Prepare physical road maps and go over suggested hurricane safety evacuation routes. Also, get information on hurricane shelters in your area in case there isn’t time to get out of town.
Another part of your hurricane safety plan is a list of who in your family is going to do what as far as packing and securing parts of the home. For example, determine who will pack the food and the important documents. Make sure your family members are aware of exactly what needs to be packed and when it needs to be done. Be sure to turn off electricity, water, propane gas, but leave natural gas on unless you are instructed otherwise. The more planning you do ahead of time, the less confusion and chaos when the hurricane safety situation actually occurs.
While packing your car, be sure to include all important documents such as licenses and IDs, social security cards, leases and deeds, insurance policies, birth and marriage certificates and financial documents. Determine which mementos and family assets will be packed, but don’t over pack. Don’t forget each family members medical supplies as well as a change of clothes and bedding. Also, include a hurricane safety emergency supply kit, which is detailed in its own blog post on this page.
Another task that can be done ahead of time is recording what you own and are leaving in your home with model types and serial numbers. In a hurricane safety situation, the more you do the easier it will be for insurance to cover your claim.
A very obvious part of your hurricane safety evacuation is securing your home to prepare for the storm. I want to stress that you should only apply hurricane protection to the extent that is safe for you and your family. Make good judgment when it comes to how long you should stay at your home. In the best case scenario, you will have hurricane protection in the form of an impact device, wind abatement system or storm shutters pre-installed so they can be easily deployed in a storm protection situation. Fabric hurricane protection is very easily to deploy, giving you more time to focus on packing your valuables and getting your family to safety. Consider putting sand bags around your yard to protect your home against flooding.
The golden rule in hurricane safety and storm protection situation is personal safety – if hurricane safety officials tell you to evacuate immediately, you do not have time to pack and prepare extensively – get out as soon as possible.
