Hurricane Prep Suggestions from our Insurance Brokers.
Please remember, your first priority should be to ensure your safety and the safety of your family, and others in your community.
Hurricane Overview:
• Hurricanes can produce winds in excess of 155 miles per hour, causing catastrophic damage to coastlines and several hundred miles inland.
Hurricanes can also lead to storm surges along the coast and cause extensive damage from heavy rainfall.
The Atlantic hurricane season lasts from June to November, with the peak season from mid-August to late October.
· Check the following supplies:
• Batteries
· Lanterns-battery operated
· Portable radios (operable and charged)
· Cellular phones (operable and charged)
· First aid supplies
· Bottled water
· Nonperishable food
· Any medications you need
Bring everything in from your balcony. They can become deadly flying objects in high wind.
Have cash on hand for post-hurricane needs (buying food and supplies).
· If power fails, turn off electrical switches.
· Create a hurricane emergency plan for your family that includes an emergency kit, communication plan, and evacuation plan.
· Prepare vehicles with fuel and emergency supplies in case of evacuations.
· Build an emergency supply kit and make a family communication plan.
· Learn hurricane evacuation routes and how to find higher ground. Determine where you would go and how you would get there if you needed to evacuate.
· Make plans to secure your property. Bring in all outdoor furniture, decorations, garbage cans, and anything not tied down.
☐ Water: At least one gallon daily per person for three to seven days.
☐ Food: Enough nonperishable food for at least three to seven days - include a manual can opener.
☐ Radio: Battery-powered or hand-crank and an NOAA weather radio with tone alert.
☐ Flashlights, batteries, and extra batteries.
☐ First aid kit, medicines, glasses, and prescription drugs.
☐ Whistle to signal for help.
☐ Fully-charged cell phones with backup battery power.
☐ Cash (including small bills), traveler’s checks, and change.
☐ Dust mask to help filter contaminated air if necessary.
☐ Moist towelettes, garbage bags, and plastic ties for personal sanitation.
☐ Wrench or pliers to turn off utilities.
☐ Vehicles: Fuel and local maps.
☐ Copies of important documents in a waterproof or watertight bag:
Insurance policies
Identification records
Bank account records
Keep this kit in a designated place and have it ready in case you have to leave your home quickly. Make sure all family members know where the kit is kept. In case you are stranded, keep a kit of emergency supplies in your car. A storm surge is water pushed toward the shore by the force of the winds swirling around the storm. This advancing surge combines with the normal tides to create the hurricane storm tide, which can increase water level to heights affecting roads, homes, and other critical infrastructure.
Wind-driven waves are superimposed on the storm tide. This rise in water level can cause severe flooding in coastal areas, particularly when the storm tide coincides with the normal high tides.
Because much of the United States’ densely populated Atlantic and Gulf Coast coastlines lie less than 10 feet above average sea level, the danger from storm tides is tremendous. The storm surge combined with wave action can cause extensive damage and severely erode beaches and coastal highways.
And now a message from your Board
Nothing is more important or valuable than the safety of your family and your neighbors. That should be your primary concern in an emergency. I can tell you from experience in hurricane Sandy that storm surge is devastating to property and life.
As you have all seen during our Concrete Restoration, almost ANYTHING can be repaired, but you cannot! Please take no chances with your personal safety.
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