Hurricane Preparedness- Online Hurricane Guide- Be Ready!
GREAT info on hurricane preparedness from Katerina Gasset, my Realtor buddy in Wellington, FL.
Although Gainesville typically does not experience the brunt of hurricanes the way coastal areas do, we certainly get our share of drenching and winds.
Might be a good idea to print this out and hang it on your refrigerator.....
Hurricane season is upon us. Hurricane season runs June 1 and ends on November 30th of every year. Our town of Wellington Florida is prepared for a Hurricane and has some great references for the residents here.
You can find out more about Hurricane Preparation at the following websites:
FEMA- www.fema.gov
Florida State- www.Floridadisaster.org; visit the SERT page.
County- www.pbc.gov; shelter and special needs information
Local- www.ci.wellington.fl.us
For Pets and Horses- www.hsus.org; The Humane Society
For Seniors- www.redcross.org
The state of Florida is the most prepared state in the country to handle a hurricane disaster. When Governor Jeb Bush was governor he was able to get the state of Florida emergency center for disasters up to the task. We have those all in place today.
1. Make sure to pick up a Hurricane guide from Publix or your local chamber of commerce or town center.
2. If you live in Wellington Florida log on to www.ci.wellington.fl.us and click on the CodeRED link or call 561-791-4003 to register your phone number for in order to be notified of an emergency. If you do not add your number to the data base you will not get called.
3. Add 911 and 511 to your cell phone and add a sticker with these numbers to your corded phone. Make sure you have a corded phone. You can buy one for less than $10 at WalMart and Target. When the power is out a corded phone will be the only one that will work. 511 is the road condition phone number. Call before you drive anywhere after a storm.
Right now, at the beginning of the Hurricane Season make sure you do the following:
- Review your homeowners and flood insurance policies.
- Take photos and video tape all the belongings in your home if you don't have time to inventory it all.
- Take photos of the interior and exterior of your home, date the video and the photos.
- Put them on line in a private album on Picassa in case the originals or your computer is damaged in a hurricane.
- Clean all your rain gutters and downspouts.
- Inspect all your hurricane supplies, make sure they are working, like your generator, repair any thing requiring to be repaired now.
- Purchase your batteries, flashlights, candles, matches, lamp oil, non perishable foods now. Each time you go to the store buy some extra items that are on your preparedness list.
- Have your 72 hour kit ready to go. This should be a back pack that you can carry in the case of having to evacuate to a shelter. Come back later for details on what should be in your 72 hour kit. Do not depend on the shelter to provide your necessities.
- Start storing water now. The easiest and cheapest way to do this is to keep all your juice containers and soda if you drink that stuff, and fill up the empty plastic containers with water. Store your water in your house not your garage. The garage can make the water too hot and damage the quality of the water.
- Develop a family disaster plan.
- Make a plan now for your pets and horses.
- All cutting of vegetation should be done before June 1st of each year. So if you have not done that yet, get that on your project list for the weekends.
Categories of Hurricanes:
Category 1: Winds= 73-95 MPH, Storm Surge= 4 to 5 feet, Damage= pier damage, boat damage, boat being torn from pier, damage to coastal areas.
Category 2: Winds= 96 to 110 PPH, Storm Surge= 6 to 8 feet, Damage= coastal roads and escape routes damaged and being cut off by rising water, damage to windows, doors and roofing.
Category 3: Winds= 111-130 MPH, Storm Surge=9 to 12 feet, Damage= Same as Cat 2. Mobile homes are damaged and destroyed. Major damage to windows, doors and roofing.
Category 4: Winds= 131-155 MPH, Storm Surge= 13-16 feet, Damage= 3 to 5 hours before the center of the storm passes through all escape roads and low lying roads will be cut off by rising water. Major damage to the lower floors of buildings along the coast caused by flooding and waves and flying debris. Collapse of roofs.
Category 5: Winds= 155 MPH+, Storm Surge= 18 feet+, Damage= Same as Cat 4. Small buildings will be overturned and blown away. Major shattering of glass, collapse of many roofs and many homes will collapse.
*Stay tuned for part 2 of this on line Hurricane Guide for what to do before the storm, during the storm and after the storm.*
To view Wellington Florida Homes For Sale Click here. We know Palm Beach County and Port St Lucie Florida and will help you get your home Sold if you need to Sell your home and help you buy your home in Palm Beach County Florida : Call us today.
Hurricane Preparedness-Online Hurricane Guide- Be Ready! was first published on South- Florida-Luxury-Living.com.
P.S. If you are listing your home as a short sale in Palm Beach County Florida and Port St Lucie Florida make sure you hire an agent who knows how to do short sales and has the experience to get the job done. We are doing successful short sale packages. Call us at 561-753-0135 to find out more about Palm Beach County Short Sales and Port St Lucie Short Sales.
Photo Courtesy of NASA
Copyright © 2009 By Katerina Gasset, All Rights Reserved.* Hurricane Preparedness-Online Hurricane Guide- Be ready! *
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