There's good news and bad news about hurricanes. The good news is that typically you have advanced notice (a day or two) that the hurricane may impact your family. The bad news are several. First of all, preparing to ride out a hurricane at the last minute is difficult because everyone else in the potentially impacted area is going to be looking for the same safety and protection items needed to 'ride it out'. Thus, there can and probably will be a shortage of scarce materials (e.g. gas, plywood, water pumps, etc.). Also, most hurricanes have risks and dangers after the hurricane hits land. They can include storm surge, floods, tornadoes, transportation issues, scarcity of life saving food and water.
I admire those inhabitants that live along coastal lines in the U.S. These families have often seen it all and experienced many hurricanes - some moderate, some severe. However hurricanes don't only impact those families living along a coast line. They have impacted inland states with excessive rain and flooding, tornadoes and power outages, plus many more risks that can impact a family. So, no matter where you live in the U.S., knowing how to prepare and survive a hurricane can help your family also prepare for other potential disasters like flooding, tornadoes and power outages.
If you are in a hurricane prone area of the U.S., it is best to have a timely preparedness plan in place. There are action steps a family should take before a hurricane watch has been issued. In addition, there are action steps to take once a hurricane warning has been issued and there are countdown steps (36 hours before, 12 hours before, 6 hours before, and after) the hurricane strikes your home or area.
Consider the potential risks of having a hurricane impact your family:
Home flooding.
Loss of power and the ability to stay warm or cold.
Loss of power and the ability to make meals and keep food from perishing.
Loss of assets including digital and mementos.
Long periods of time after a hurricane without life's amenities or even, access to your home.
Craig Sobolik
I am an experienced and Certified Business Continuity Professional - (CBCP) whose career has been focused on helping some of corporate America's top businesses (think Fortune 1000 businesses) prepare for and manage disasters or threats to their businesses. My accolades include multiple awards for helping manage responses to such national events as the I-35 bridge collapse in Minneapolis, the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, the Democratic National Convention in 2008 and managing a disaster preparedness program for UnitedHealth Group, a Fortune 6 company.
Did you know that there is a National Consumer Protection Week? Well I didn’t either until I got an email from the Social Security Administration. Apparently, National Consumer Protection Week is the first week in March, every March. Who knew? As part of this National Protection week, the Social Security Administration published an article called
Our team of preparedness professionals has been monitoring current disasters for the last five years and here is a list of common disasters that occur during the month of March: Tornado disasters. Extreme Weather disasters. Pandemic disasters. Asset Protection disasters. Critical Vendor disasters. So, what are talking about when we mention these general disaster categories?
Choice 1: You can do nothing. This is the easiest choice because it requires no effort on your part, no outlay of cash, time or resources and follows the belief, “I’m going to let fate take its course”. Choice 2: You can decide to prepare at or just before the time of crisis. This choice