It's important (especially for
coastal residents) when hurricane watches
and warnings are issued, LISTEN TO THEM! Pay
attention to notices that your area may be
evacuated prior to storm arrival. Do
NOT ignore these warnings to leave,
after the wind gets above 40 mph, there will
be nobody coming to rescue you from an
area that has been ordered to be cleared in
an evacuation. |
If you are staying where
you are during the
hurricane, be sure
you have adequate
food,
water, flashlights,
batteries, battery powered radio/tv and a
Hurricane tracking map and other
survival supplies (which can be found in my
'Kits' section) as well as important
documents, medications and things to help
any children or pets you have which will
need to have something to occupy their minds
(tv, and video games won't work if the
power's out!). |
Make sure to clear all yard
debris (furniture, gardening tools, toys
etc) Board up all windows or use hurricane
shutters, the idea behind taping your
windows...is not to keep them from breaking,
no it's to keep them from shattering into
little pieces which present a physical
danger when (not if) but when the windows
break. The chart below will give you a
clearer picture of how destructive the
various categories of hurricane can be.
Saffir-Simpson Hurricane
Scale
|
Scale Number
(Category)
|
Sustained
Winds (MPH)
|
Damage
|
Storm Surge
|
|
1
|
74-95
|
Minimal:
Unanchored
mobile
homes,
vegetation
and signs
|
4-5 feet
|
|
2
|
96-110
|
Moderate:
All mobile
homes,
roofs, small
crafts,
flooding
|
6-8 feet
|
|
3
|
111-130
|
Extensive:
Small
buildings,
low-lying
roads cut
off.
|
9-12 feet
|
|
4
|
131-150
|
Extreme:
Roofs
destroyed,
trees down,
roads cut
off, mobile
homes
destroyed.
Beach homes
flooded.
|
13-18 feet
|
|
5
|
More than
150
|
Catastrophic:
Most
buildings
destroyed.
Vegetation
destroyed.
Major roads
cut off.
Homes
flooded
|
Greater than
18 feet
|
I went
through
Hurricane Andrew and I was 50 miles away
from where it made landfall, yet it
completely destroyed my solid aluminum
screened enclosure, flipped vehicles over in
my neighborhood, so if you are located
anywhere the storm affects, you're likely to
experience at the very least downed
power lines which will take weeks to repair.
After that I went through Hurricane Francis,
it took out power and water for 2 weeks
where I was at. Many of my neighbors
didn't fare as well as my family did,
because they'd never seen such a storm, but
because I was prepared it was just a time to
enjoy simpler things. We had plenty of
food, water, games and 'indoor' camping
games our children played, so it went a lot
better than it could have. It's all
about your mentality, you can panic...or
survive!
You can prepare for any hurricane with the
supplies and information on this website.
All you need to do is BE PREPARED, don't put
it off so when the time comes and you face a
devastating storm, you can relax and spend
quality time with your family instead of
panicking like others who were not prepared. |
