Now that summer is upon us most people are daydreaming about vacation, backyard barbecues, lazy days at the beach and working on their tan. One thing that most people do not think about is inclement weather, especially hurricanes. In the Atlantic Ocean region hurricane season peaks from mid-August to October. There are an average of 5-6 hurricanes every year.
Most hurricanes just give us a lot of wind and rain, and perhaps property damage. Don’t let those hurricanes fool you. Even a category 4 hurricane can be deadly. Take for example the category 4 hurricane that hit Galveston, Texas in 1900 that took 8,000 lives. No one can forget about Hurricane Katrina either. Although Hurricane Katrina didn’t take many lives (thankfully), the financial and emotional toll was astronomical.
Being in New York we have been fortunate when it comes to hurricanes. We do get some nasty ones from time to time, but thankfully nothing as serious as Hurricane Katrina.
The worst hurricane that comes to mind was Hurricane Floyd that hit us in 1999. We lost power for three days. We had to drive an hour upstate to my parent’s house to take a shower and have a decent meal. All our perishable food had to be tossed out and all of our fish died because without power their air pump and filter did not work.
I hope and pray that we never have to go through that again. The reality is that it can happen again. It can happen next week, next month, next year or five years from now. You never know. That is why it’s very important that you are always prepared in case of an emergency.
One way you can get prepared is to check out the New York Office of Emergency Management’s (OEM)’s guide, Ready New York: Hurricanes and New York City. Contrary to popular belief among New Yorkers, tropical storms and hurricanes can and do impact the City. The guide includes general tips on how to prepare for any emergency, instructions on how to develop a hurricane disaster plan and secure your home, and a map of New York City hurricane evacuation zones.
I realize that most of readers do not reside in New York City. Neither do I but that doesn’t mean that you can’t benefit from the helpful information provided in the Ready New York guide. Most information can be applied to just about any place here in the United States and abroad. It’s important to familiarize yourself with things like storm surges, coastal flooding and what you should do in the event of an evacuation.
As with any emergency situation it’s important to have an emergency kit handy so you can grab it in a moment’s notice. I have an emergency kit in my car and my husband has one in his car. We also have another one in our home.
For more information about what you should have in your emergency kit, and additional important information about emergencies, check out the Ready New York Hurricane guide. Even if you think you know all there is to know about emergency preparedness, think again. I learned A LOT from the site.
For more tips check out other posts I have written over the years about emergency preparedness.
http://www.shescribes.com/2011/09/are-you-prepared-giveaway.html*
http://www.shescribes.com/2012/01/are-you-ready-giveaway.html*
*The giveaways in these posts are closed.
To help you get prepared in case of a hurricane emergency or other emergency I have a special emergency Go Bag to give to a lucky reader. The bag is filled with emergency essentials including a pocket radio, flashlight, first aid kit, batteries, worker’s gloves, light sticks, emergency blankets, and more. Everything comes in a handy backpack.
This giveaway is open to US residents only and will end on June 19, 2012 at 12:01 AM (EST). The winner will be chosen at random using a random number generator. The winner will be notified via e-mail.
Kimberly
*I received a free sample Go Bag in exchange for this review. There was no compensation. The opinions expressed are my own and are not influenced in any way. The prize is provided by the Ad Council and OEM.
About Kimberly
i learned Between 1959 and 2002, 132 people died in New York State after being struck by lightning. T
Your chances of being struck by lightning are estimated to be 1 in 600,000,
I learned that if your car stalls in a flooded area, abandon it as soon as possible
We always keep lots of canned food and water on hand
subscribed via rss google reader- stacey0711n(At)GmAil(Dot)com
We are not fully prepared. We were actually talking about this last week (while watching survival shows) and have started a list of things we need to get ready. For us, it’s more fear of tornado.
thank you!
We have candles, flashlights and oil lamps.
melodyj(at)gmail(dot)com
Sadly, we are not really prepared at all.
We prepare for hurricanes by having plenty of bottled water canned foods and flashlights together with other necessitys in one place.
I have 3 days of water since I can go without food, but not water. I have canned food.
I have alot of pantry food and I have my important documents in a binder. I do need to prep better.
I learned that if your car stalls in a flooded area, abandon it.
We have emergency supplies stored in our basement that includes food, water, batteries and some cash etc. We also have a generator with enough gas to run it for several days.
We have started storing water in our leftover 2 Liter soda bottles – just in case!
I am pretty prepared but I’d like to be more streamlined, have more plans. Thanks!
We make sure we have bottled water and batteries on hand
Thanks!
Not prepared except for bandages and gauge.
We are only prepared with a lantern and lots of candles!
We try to be prepared with flashlights, candles, blankets and a battery operated radio.
Well living in Florida we HAVE to be prepared!!! We always keep lots of batteries, flashlights, canned food, candles and a small charcoal grill ready to go this time of year!