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ARE YOU READY? DON’T LET IT CATCH YOU OFF GUARD!

The Atlantic Hurricane season, officially begins (June 1st), and will end on November 30th, 2016. “The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is predicting an above-normal 2017 Hurricane Season, with five to nine hurricanes — two to four of them Category 3 (winds at least 111 mph) or stronger. The forecast calls for 11 to 17 tropical systems (winds a least 39 mph).”

Nearly twelve years ago (2005), hurricane Wilma, was the last hurricane to strike South Florida making landfall near Naples. Wilma storm surge swept the coastal areas and high winds leashed Broward County for almost five hours leaving significant damage to residential and commercial buildings. Power outage was reported by Florida Power and Light (FPL) on more than 3,241,000 customers. Some areas in Weston were without power for 2–3 weeks after the storm hit. The damage in Florida totaled $20.6 billion. Wilma was the costliest hurricane in the state of Florida since Hurricane Andrew (1992) and is ranked as the fifth costliest storm in United States history.
Since then, more than three millions of people had moved to the Sunshine state, fortunately they had not gone troughs the experience of a major hurricane impact and its devastating consequences. But, their lack of awareness and knowledge of the risk and challenges associated to the hurricane season could represent a great burden if hurricane strikes and they don’t prepare.
Knowledge is power; by knowing your vulnerabilities, your property deficiencies, your community action plan, you can mitigate the effect of a hurricane disaster. Here, I share with you some vital information and tips on how to prepare:

COLLECT INFORMATION: Gather all the important documents store it on your computer or the clouds or thumb drive. Make sure to have original documentation stored in a waterproof container.

  • Household information: summary of personal information for your household. In the event of an emergency or if you are incapacitated, this information will help others get in touch with your family
  • Legal documents: Birth certificate, adoption papers, marriage license, divorce papers, social security, passports, green card, will, Power of attorney.
  • Property documents: Mortgage or real estate deeds of trust, property tax, Flood Insurance, Homeowners insurance, content insurance, property appraisal, pictures of your house and content.
  • Vehicle information: lease contract, car insurance, registration, ownership papers.
  • Financial information: Investment accounts, bank statements, credit card statements, retirement accounts, etc.
  • Tax statements: previous year information.
  • Medical information: health insurance, list of necessary medications, disability documentation, living will, etc.
  • Other important documents: Military ID, alimony, child support, government benefits etc.

MAKE A PLAN: Make sure your family has a plan before disaster strikes. It’s important that you write all the information on how to get in contact with each other, where will you go and what will you do in case of emergency. Include information about the different places you frequent and their emergency plans. Find out which are the emergency shelters open in your area and the evacuation routes. Contact a family or friend out of state and arrange your stay in case you have to be evacuated from the disaster zone.  Very important to include in your plan the special attention to people with disabilities, Childbirth, Infant Feeding and don’t forget your pets!

PREPARE A KIT: Prepare two emergency supply kits, one full kit at home and other one small on your vehicle. Just collect the basic items your household may need in case of a disaster.

  • Documents: get all the documents previously collect, camera, local maps and cash.
  • Food and water: One gallon of water per person per day, nonperishable food, three day supply, can opener.
  • First Aid Kit: with all the basic and also include antibacterial, prescription medicine, hand wash.
  • Emergency articles: battery or solar flashlight, radio and fan, waterproof matches, dust masks, zip-lock bags, batteries, emergency whistle, instant charger for cellphones and laptops.
  • Personal articles: change of clothing, hygiene items, sleeping bags.
  • Others: activities for children, infant formula, diapers.

PREPARE YOUR HOME: You can take some precautions to mitigate the impact of hurricane forces, but keep in mind that this won’t make it hurricane-proof, nor do these measures guarantee your safety.

  • Cover all of your home’s windows. Permanent storm shutters offer the best protection for windows. A second option is to board up windows with 5/8” marine plywood, cut to fit and ready to install.
  • Trim trees and shrubs around your home. I recommend doing it with a professional.
  • Clean rain gutters and downspouts.
  • Turn the refrigerator thermostat to its coldest setting and keep its doors closed.
  • Fill the bathtub and other larger containers with water for sanitary purpose.
  • Reinforce your garage doors and roof structure.  I recommend doing it with a professional.
  • Turn off propane tanks.  Bring the furniture inside and garbage cans.
  • Install generator or consider a solar generator.
  • Retrofit your home to make it more climate change resilient.

PROTECT THE ENVIRONMENT: One of the things we don’t consider before the hurricane strikes is the protection of the environment. Natural disasters generate tons of debris and produce hazard to the environment; we should not add an extra burden to these already extreme conditions. Check with your city to see if they have waste management options before the hurricane. You can implement practices to reduce the negative impact by paying attention to all the household hazardous waste in your home.

  • Keep all the chemicals like paints, cleaning products, pesticides, and drain cleaner in a proper container. Start buying green products.
  • Dispose paints, motor oil, and gasoline in a drop off locations.
  • Never throw needles, batteries, light bulbs directly into the trash.

GET INFORM: Public safety officials use reliable systems to alert you and your family in the event of natural disasters. Many communities also offer emergency alert notifications through their own systems.

  • Register on CODE RED: this Is a high speed telephone communication service for emergency notifications with instructions for action. For Weston residents go to westonfl.org
  • Consider purchasing a NOAA weather radio receiver.  Broadcasts official Weather Service warnings, watches, forecasts and other hazard information 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
  • Go to FEMA web site: ready.gov

IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR BROWARD AND WESTON RESIDENTS:

We have been fortunate that no hurricanes have come our way, but as a disaster Inspector and Weston CERT, I want to I encourage you to be ready. Florida is long overdue, don’t let hurricane season catch you off guard.

Also, the time is now to start planning to retrofit your property and make it more resilient to hurricanes and climate change.  Prepare, be ready, Be safe! For information on how to retrofit your property or how to prepare for hurricane season, send an email to floridaleedap@gmail.com
THE TIME IS NOW, GET READY!

 

By: Maria M Hernandez, Disaster Inspector, CGC / LEED AP, Weston CERT

Ciudad Weston Newspaper

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