be prepared!
THE WARM WATERS OF THE ATLANTIC ARE CHURNING ... ARE YOU
PREPARED FOR A HURRICANE? IF YOU HAVEN’T DONE SO ALREADY,
YOU SHOULD PREPARE YOURSELF, YOUR FAMILY, YOUR HOME AND
YOUR BUSINESS FOR THE THREAT OF A POTENTIAL STORM.
Please make sure you also have a hurricane plan for shelter, food, water, evacuation,
recovery and, of course, your own health.
Getting ready for a natural disaster is a challenge that covers many topics: evacuation
routes, home preparation, insurance, emergency kits, disability information, utilities,
pets and emergency shelters.
Assess your situation to understand your needs in disaster preparedness: consider
your family and the special needs they might have; young children, elderly parents or
grandparents, people with disabilities, medications, pets, special foods and anything
else you can think of that needs more attention.
Know the local evacuation plan, where you can go, have two options, including
the location of the emergency shelters. If you’re told to evacuate, go early; roads
will be clogged with outbound traffic. Take spare vehicle and house keys; garage
door openers will only work with power.
Arrange reliable transportation with plenty of fuel.
Plan to crate your pets for travel (it calms them).
Gather now nonperishable food and clean water to last at least 10 days, includ-ing
for pets; put it in a cool, dry place easy to get to.
Tell your neighbors where you are going.
Join your neighborhood Facebook group and like your town’s Facebook page.
Learn in advance how to shut off an LP gas line and water to a dock.
Shut off ground level toilets. Tape off ground level drains to keep water from
coming back up through them.
Build or purchase a fully stocked first aid kit and put it in your car. Consider an
emergency kit with essential, non-medical items.
Decide now how your priceless possessions (photos, heirlooms, important
papers) will be protected. Video for a possible insurance claim.
Purchase an assortment of batteries, store flashlights, lanterns and batteries
along with all phone and computer chargers to grab in an evacuation.
Purchase a battery radio.
Gather important phone numbers and emergency cash and identification, plus
insurance policies in one place to grab in an evacuation.
OTHER RESOURCES:
20
WBM june 2019
WHAT ARE THE COSTS
ASSOCIATED WITH TROPICAL
CYCLONES?
NOAA (National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration) has been
documenting billion-dollar weather events
since 1980. These include tropical cyclones
but also tornadoes, wildfires, droughts,
winter storms and more. Tropical cyclones
account for 54.9 percent of total losses in
these costly events equaling $927.5 billion
(inflation adjusted); the average event was
$22.1 billion. Total deaths in multibillion-dollar
cyclones is 6,487. The years with the
most multibillion-dollar events are 2011
and 2017. Note that these statistics do not
include storms with less than $1 billion
• Emergency hurricane assistance (910) 256-7920
• WB Fire Department (910) 256-7920
• WB Police Department (910) 256-7945
• www.ready.gov
• www.readync.org
• www.townofwrightsvillebeach.com
• www.floodsmart.gov