What to Do when Preparing for a Hurricane

Sitting here in the path of Hurricane Hanna, still a Tropical Storm in spite of its devastating trip through Haiti (taking 100 lives with her), I am keeping a wary eye on the Weather Channel and the National Weather Service Web site for constant updates of Hurricane Hanna.

Haiti was so hard hit this week by Hurricane Hanna that thousands of people were left without food, clean water or shelter for days. United Nations Peacekeepers have finally repaired the city's docks and biscuits, rice and clean water are being brought in. With the rain stopping and the water now receding, residents are being rescued by national and local disaster relief teams.

Some people were stranded on rooftops for hours and one hospital in Les Cayes had to evacuate patients to higher floors. Five thousand people are still in shelters awaiting repairs to living areas already damaged by previous storms. Ike will be blowing past soon but is not expected to wreak havoc on the country.

Hanna breezed through the Carolinas this morning, drenching the area with 5-6 inches of rain and winds gusting up to 55 miles per hour, leaving behind localized flooding, some road closings and scattered power outages but not much of a weather crisis for them. Ike, however is hot on her heels and was first predicted to have the potential to hit South Florida with the same magnitude as Hurricane Andrew in 1992. According to more recent reports, the threat is easing.

For the moment, Hanna is visiting Southeast Virginia and promises to join us here in Southern New Jersey around dinner time. Virginia is reporting heavy winds and rains expected to continue and worsen into the evening. A Tropical Storm watch remains in effect from Cape Fear, NC up to Southern New England.

Already, the rain is soaking our beach and the wind is making missiles of hanging planters that the tourists left behind earlier this week. Ordinarily, living four blocks from the beach and three blocks from the bay is an enviable geographical living arrangement, but today those two entities are threatening to meet in front of my house. Heavy winds and rains are expected, power outages possible and flooding almost inevitable today and throughout the evening.

If you are living in an area prone to storms and hurricanes during this wild season, take heed of the precautions outlined by the Weather Channel during the Storm season:

Decide ahead of time whether you're going to remain in your home or settle your family in a shelter. If you decide to ride it out in your home, remain indoors and do not allow anyone to venture out into the storm.

Bring your pets indoors also so that they will remain safe and dry until the weather passes.

Secure all trash receptacles and lawn furniture and remove any plants that could blow into windows and damage the neighbor's property as well as your own.

Put your vehicles inside of your garage or take them to higher ground if you live in low lying, flood prone areas.

Keep enough bottled water, fruit juices, tinned milk (if you have youngsters) and canned food to last at least three days. In the event that your power goes out and the water supply is damaged your family can subsist on these items until rescue and/or repair can occur.

Know where your first aid supplies are beforehand. Hopefully, you've made a point of procuring these items prior to any medical emergency or weather crisis. It's a good idea to always be prepared and know where these items are kept. If you have them, keep them in the immediate vicinity.

An ample supply of candles, matches or lighters, flashlights and batteries should also be within easy reach. Flashlights and a battery powered radio will be your best friends if your power is down for any length of time. It is wise to always have access to emergency radio reports in the event of a prolonged crisis.

I would further caution to keep your laptop battery charged or even to keep a live spare for emergency situations. Wireless Internet may not be available during an outage but you can keep yourself and/or your children entertained with offline content or games while your power is out.

If there is a lull in the weather, don't trust that all is over. Stay put, keep tuned into your weather advisory stations and wait until the storm warnings are no longer in effect before leaving your safe area.

The hurricane season lasts from June 1st through November 30th, but if you live in the mid-eastern coastal states, the damage of these storms will be more of a nuisance than a crisis. It still is advisable to be ready for any eventuality the season and Hurricane Hanna may bring.