Friday, June 19, 2009

Hurricane Survival Links

I created most of the posts on this website in 2008. In June, 2009, with hurricane season barely underway and the tropics quiet (so far), I have updated the links in last summer's posts. The information remains valid. It's important to have an emergency plan in place, because sometimes you get just two or three days notice. Even if a storm builds over weeks in the Atlantic, the track may change at the last minute, and you'll find yourself facing a disaster you thought would befall someone else. I hope if you have found your way here, you'll take a few minutes to read those 2008 posts and think about the ideas presented here and on the recommended websites.

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Are you ready for a disaster?

It's always amazing to me that people who live in coastal communities generally don't make any special preparations for hurricane season or consider it anything to worry about until the storm is a couple of days away and making a beeline for their homes.

The National Hurricane Survival Initiative is a new website that focuses on the importance of preparation and provides some terrific resources and information. On the front page, they link to a poll, completed in May 2009, in which they asked people who live in coastal communities about the forthcoming hurricane season. More than half said they don't feel vulnerable to hurricane damage. More than half said they don't have a family disaster plan. Nearly a third said they would take no special steps to prepare their home for a hurricane. Eight percent of the people surveyed said they would use tape to protect their windows!

If you are reading this blog, I hope that means you are concerned about the safety of your home and family and are prepared for the event of an emergency.

Hurricane preparedness = disaster preparedness. If you are ready to weather a storm, then you'll be prepared for a pandemic, a terrorist attack, another natural disaster, an unexpected blackout, or any other emergency situation.

Remember, it's better to be prepared for no reason, then to be unprepared when disaster strikes!