@muellersjSteven Mueller
Are you ready for #hurricane #irene ? My wife who has a background in emergency management wrote some tipshttp://j.mp/qgnPp7
PREPAREDNESS
With the upcoming Hurricane that is going to probably hit most of the East Coast, I thought I would interupt Steven's regular schedule (or would be if he blogged anymore, I mean, what's up with that?) with a hurricane preparedness post.
Please note that my undergraduate degree is in homeland security and emergency preparedness, and part of my masters will be in emergency management. So, if I seem a little nutso, that's probably because I am. I strongly believe in preparedness, no matter what. It's kind of my jam.
I'm going to break it down into three sections: Preparedness for apartment dwellers, preparedness for homeowners and general preparedness.
Apartment Dwellers
Make sure your renters insurance covers flooding. Better yet, make sure you have renter's insurance. For a whopping $100-$300 a year you have financial protection against theft, destruction and disaster. Usually it's $50/year for flood insurance for renters and it's worth it. I can't speak to every company, but usually this will cover everything from your upstairs neighbor's waterbed leaking into your apartment (X-Files anyone? Name that episode and you're my new BFF), to a hole being ripped out of your wall by a raging monster a la Cloverfield and it raining while you're hiding in fear (it also covers the less mundane hurricane-type damage).
I would have some basic tools on hand in case your building experiences a gas line break or anything such as that where you would have to cut the power/water/gas. You might think your landlord will have this covered, but in most cases they don't. They're probably at home cowering too.
House Owners
Insurance. Duh. Now here's the the thing about flood insurance. Most times it will never, ever be necessary. Kind of like earthquake coverage on the east coast (whoops) however, when you need it, you need it. And it's only a couple hundred dollars a year, unless you live in high risk states, then I have no frame of reference.
Something like 30% of all people in risk areas for floods actually have flood insurance. Part of the biggest reason why Katrina victims couldn't return to New Orleans was because of not having flood insurance and not being able to pay for costly repairs to their houses.
Please note that my undergraduate degree is in homeland security and emergency preparedness, and part of my masters will be in emergency management. So, if I seem a little nutso, that's probably because I am. I strongly believe in preparedness, no matter what. It's kind of my jam.
I'm going to break it down into three sections: Preparedness for apartment dwellers, preparedness for homeowners and general preparedness.
Apartment Dwellers
Make sure your renters insurance covers flooding. Better yet, make sure you have renter's insurance. For a whopping $100-$300 a year you have financial protection against theft, destruction and disaster. Usually it's $50/year for flood insurance for renters and it's worth it. I can't speak to every company, but usually this will cover everything from your upstairs neighbor's waterbed leaking into your apartment (X-Files anyone? Name that episode and you're my new BFF), to a hole being ripped out of your wall by a raging monster a la Cloverfield and it raining while you're hiding in fear (it also covers the less mundane hurricane-type damage).
I would have some basic tools on hand in case your building experiences a gas line break or anything such as that where you would have to cut the power/water/gas. You might think your landlord will have this covered, but in most cases they don't. They're probably at home cowering too.
House Owners
Insurance. Duh. Now here's the the thing about flood insurance. Most times it will never, ever be necessary. Kind of like earthquake coverage on the east coast (whoops) however, when you need it, you need it. And it's only a couple hundred dollars a year, unless you live in high risk states, then I have no frame of reference.
Something like 30% of all people in risk areas for floods actually have flood insurance. Part of the biggest reason why Katrina victims couldn't return to New Orleans was because of not having flood insurance and not being able to pay for costly repairs to their houses.
And here's our story:
I talk about flood insurance, and am a huge advocate of it, but my husband/insurance adjuster convinced me not to get it on our new house. The insurance adjuster told us we weren't in a flood zone and come find out there's a dam upstream from the river that runs next to our house (thankfully down a really large hill) that couldbreak and flood our 'hood. Is this likely to happen? Well, as likely to happen as a 5.8 earthquake on the east coast. So guess who's scrambling to see if we'll be covered under hurricane damage should that happen and what we'll have to pay out if we need flood insurance after all.
( Sigh. )
Board up your windows. You don't necessarily have to worry about the wind, but you DO have to worry about debris. ready.gov recommends 5/8 inch plywood.
I read on ready.gov about how you can strap down your roof. I don't want to make a recommendation on this one. It seems like if you think it's necessary, you should probably do it.
Clean out your gutters, storm drains, excess drains etc. You could also attach a rain barrel over where your drainage is so that you get the rain from your gutters for your garden.
Secure any outdoor patio furniture (put it in a garage or basement). The same would go for outdoor animals. Move them into a secure, dry shelter. For example, we're going to set up house for the chickens in the basement because we won't be able to get to the garage if it hits as hard as it's supposed to.
Turn off propane tanks and other things that could explode. Exploding things are bad.
I talk about flood insurance, and am a huge advocate of it, but my husband/insurance adjuster convinced me not to get it on our new house. The insurance adjuster told us we weren't in a flood zone and come find out there's a dam upstream from the river that runs next to our house (thankfully down a really large hill) that couldbreak and flood our 'hood. Is this likely to happen? Well, as likely to happen as a 5.8 earthquake on the east coast. So guess who's scrambling to see if we'll be covered under hurricane damage should that happen and what we'll have to pay out if we need flood insurance after all.
( Sigh. )
Board up your windows. You don't necessarily have to worry about the wind, but you DO have to worry about debris. ready.gov recommends 5/8 inch plywood.
I read on ready.gov about how you can strap down your roof. I don't want to make a recommendation on this one. It seems like if you think it's necessary, you should probably do it.
Clean out your gutters, storm drains, excess drains etc. You could also attach a rain barrel over where your drainage is so that you get the rain from your gutters for your garden.
Secure any outdoor patio furniture (put it in a garage or basement). The same would go for outdoor animals. Move them into a secure, dry shelter. For example, we're going to set up house for the chickens in the basement because we won't be able to get to the garage if it hits as hard as it's supposed to.
Turn off propane tanks and other things that could explode. Exploding things are bad.
General Preparedness
Turn the fridge to it's coldest setting in case your power cuts out. Your food will keep for longer. Remember, don't go into the fridge unless you need to.
Have enough food and water for a MINIMUM of three days. For water, you can a. fill up the bathtub, or b. go out and spend $7 on 1 gallon bottles of water from Target to get your water, and make sure to grab a few bottles of distilled water for toilet flushing and bathing. Our fall back hurricane preparedness food was PB&Js, cans of kidney beans and Pringles. I'm pretty sure we're kindergartners at heart.
Get a handcrank/battery powered weather radio and a battery powered lantern. I prefer a lantern over a flashlight because you can set it down and light up a whole room.
Keep away from windows.
If it floods, get to higher ground. Keep an eye out for snakes. Especially if you're Ice Cube, Owen Wilson, or Jennifer Lopez (geez, it must be awesome 90s movie/tv reference day). DON'T kill any wildlife that comes in. This will attract rats. And not the cool kind from Nimh (oh yeah, it's a theme now. Even though the Rats of Nimh was a really awesome book first, I'm counting it).
DO NOT drive through a flooded roadway. There are two main reasons for this: 1. The road might not be there. 2. If the water is moving, you will likely get swept away. AND DIE.
Keep your car's gas tank full and have a "bail-out bag" prepared. In the bag you should have all of your important documentation, a change of clothes, water, food, and you should take along your weather radio, map and anything else you might need if you're forced to evacuate. I'd keep your portable family heirlooms, important jewelry and other significant items that you wouldn't want to leave behind in a parcel to grab at moments's notice.
If you don't evacuate, and you realize halfway through the storm that you should have evacuated, you should stay put (unless your life is immediate danger, of course)
Don't touch downed powerlines, play by a rushing body of water, etc. You know. Stay inside during a hurricane and be smart.
Have supplies for your pets, medicines on hand, a first aid kid, toys for the kiddos and board games. I would recommend liquor if you're into that sort of thing. Maybe even some...hurricanes.
MOST IMPORTANTLY: Use common sense. If it seems like a bad idea, it probably is.
So there you have it: an intensely detailed preparedness guide. I hope this helps keep some of you safe. For more reference visit your local emergency management department's website, or ready.gov.
NOTE: While I have a degree in emergency preparedness, I am not an emergency management professional and even if I was, all of my recommendations are just that. Recommendations. I am in no way legally responsible for any damages, costs, problems or complaints that may occur in either the course of preparedness, the course of a natural disaster, or any other situation should you take my advice.
So there you have it: an intensely detailed preparedness guide. I hope this helps keep some of you safe. For more reference visit your local emergency management department's website, or ready.gov.
NOTE: While I have a degree in emergency preparedness, I am not an emergency management professional and even if I was, all of my recommendations are just that. Recommendations. I am in no way legally responsible for any damages, costs, problems or complaints that may occur in either the course of preparedness, the course of a natural disaster, or any other situation should you take my advice.
