Even with advanced warnings, hurricanes pose many dangers!

Are you in a potential hurricane area? If you are in the United States, there are about 20 states that have the potential to be impacted by a hurricane. Even if you don't live in one of those 20 states,  other hurricane related risks such as excessive rainfall with aftermath flooding (i.e. storm surge)' and tornadoes may impact where you live.  And if you don't live in the United States (e.g. the Caribbean islands, or other countries such as Mexico and Cuba), these areas are often prone to hurricanes and the damage they can cause.  That's a lot of potential risk to a large portion of the United States and Central America!

There's always several questions associated with hurricanes. Where 'exactly' is it going to hit? How severe is it going to be (Category 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5) and should we ride it out or evacuate? Thankfully I've never had to make the 'evacuate or ride-it-out' decision, but I have been involved in responding to the aftermath of numerous historic hurricanes including Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy. My advice to families that may be impacted by a hurricane is to listen to the authorities. If they advise evacuation, then evacuate. If they don't, then prepare yourself fully. The good news is that if you plan to 'ride it out', you will have advanced warning and usually, some time to prepare. The bad news is that you may not be able to procure or purchase the survival items you need to have on hand because everyone else will be doing the same thing.  Stores will run out of the items you should have or could have had on hand. Common items like plywood to protect your windows, water pumps, hoses, etc. may disappear quickly from stores. Then there's also the concern of "Will we have enough food and safe water on hand after the storm?"  So, the solution to these issues is to be prepared in advance by having the items on hand, before everyone else goes into emergency response mode. That way, if you decide to evacuate, your 'go bag' will be assembled and ready to take with you. If you decide to 'ride it out', you will already have most, if not all of the resources you need to weather the storm. At least, you will be better prepared to ride it out compared to most of your neighbors.