Hurricane Season is Here – Prepare Now

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Hurricane Season

 

Hurricane Preparedness from Firestorm

 

If you are a Business: What is your plan for this season’s Hurricane threat?

 

  • How will you deal with employee shortages due to a storm?
  • Will suppliers be affected? Do you have a backup Supply Chain plan?
  • Do you have an Employee Crisis Communication channel?
  • Have you communicated to Customers?
  • Remember the 48 hour “YOYO” rule: You’re On Your Own the first 48 hours immediately after a disaster

 

General Preparedness: NOW

 

  • Create a written emergency preparedness and action plan for your family and business. Review it, distribute it, be available to answer questions and concerns.
  • Call your insurance agent and/or carefully review your policy. Review insurance coverage for your home and business, and the contents. Determine your flood insurance eligibility – homeowners insurance typically does not cover flood damage.
  • Prepare crates or other safe transport for pets. 61% of people will not evacuate if they cannot take their pets with them. Have food and familiar items ready for your pet.
  • Buy plywood or shutters for protecting windows. Trim trees to lessen flying debris. Store outdoor furniture, umbrellas, and other objects that have the potential to become projectiles and harm others.
  • Remember – many injuries occur before a storm from unsafe use of power tools before an emergency – stay calm and ask for help if unfamiliar with drills, saws and other tools
  • Find out if you live in a hurricane evacuation zone by contacting your local emergency management office. Make an evacuation plan if you live in an area vulnerable to storm surge or fresh water flooding, if you live in a mobile home, or if you live in a high-rise building.
  • Identify the evacuation route you will use if told to evacuate. Determine the nearest substantial, low-rise building outside of flood zones to which you can evacuate such as an official public shelter, a hotel, or a friend’s or relative’s home. Find out if where you’re going will accept any pets. Gas up your car. Do not store extra gasoline in an unsafe manner.
  • Agree upon two places family members can meet if separated: one outside your home for an emergency while there, and one out of the neighborhood if you cannot return home.
  • Test emergency equipment such as generators and flashlights. Replace batteries, have extra batteries on hand. If using kerosene lanterns or candles, guard against fire. Store flammable liquids in a safe and secure manner.
  • Decide where you will store your boat during a tropical storm or hurricane, and factor into your action plan the time to move it to storage.
  • Assemble a hurricane survival kit. Obtain emergency supplies now to be self-sufficient during the storm and its potentially lengthy aftermath. If you wait until a hurricane is on your doorstep to buy these items, they will be in very short supply or even completely unavailable. Water for utility usage (not personal washing or consumption) may be stored in bathtubs and hot-tubs.

 

What to do Immediately after a Disaster

 

In preparation for Hurricane Season, the following resources include an excerpt from Firestorm’s Book, Disaster Ready People for a Disaster Ready America By James W. Satterfield & Harry W. Rhulen.

You may download the entire ebook for free here:

AFTER A DISASTER

Look at the recovery in post-disaster stages, so as to not get overwhelmed.

• Immediate recovery

• Short-term recovery

• Long-term recovery

Post-Disaster

Immediate Recovery

First and foremost, remain safe. Is the event completely over? For example, the earth no longer quakes, but damaged buildings may continue to fall; the hurricane no longer dumps rains, but the levees then fail.

• In some cases, law enforcement officials and emergency personnel may be in a position to tell you it’s safe to re-enter certain structures. In many cases, however, the aftermath of a disaster is as chaotic as the disaster itself, and they will not be available, at least initially. Don’t panic; use common sense.

• Gather your family—this is your mutual support system; make plans together.

• Handle immediate medical needs—check everyone for wounds or injuries. Use your first aid kit and/or seek additional treatment.

It’s during this time that outside help will probably begin to arrive. Local emergency services people will probably be first on the scene, followed by state representatives, and, if the disaster is large enough, eventually FEMA and other Federal resources.

Remain alert, as there will still be a great deal of confusion. The various assistance agencies might not be communicating and coordinating well with each other, which means you may get conflicting instructions and information. If someone, even an official, tells you something that doesn’t make sense, if at all possible, wait before you act on that information. Before long, the situation will begin to clarify itself.

• Avoid obvious hazards—downed electric lines, the smell of gas, standing water, etc. Make sure everyone remains alert and knows how to spot and stay away from danger.

• Listen to your emergency radio—use it to determine your next moves, which may be to remain where you are. Be careful of rumors; they can exacerbate a disaster, leading to unnecessary risk or pandemonium.

• Defer making major decisions—focus on the present; when your life is suddenly in upheaval and your status quo is interrupted, you will not be in the frame-of-mind to make sound decisions. But, don’t worry, for the emphasis now should be on your immediate needs. You will not gain anything by deciding or feeling pressure to decide something under duress.

• Expect emotional reactions—emotions run high after a disaster and swing back and forth. Some people are elated, because it’s over; others are depressed, because things are such a mess. Fear is likely to continue for some time. Do not ignore these feelings and reactions as they come up; address them with love and understanding.

• Take in enough food and water—provided you still have your reserves, stay hydrated and nourished in order to maintain energy and stay as comfortable as possible.

• Stay off the phone—lines will be jammed, if they are working at all. Conserve your cell phone batteries.

Short-Term Recovery

Once you’re sure the disaster is over, you move into the short-term recovery phase. Again, your first job is to stay safe. During this period (which could be anywhere from a few hours to several weeks), keep providing emotional support to each other, as the healing process is gradual.

Depending on the kind of disaster you’ve gone through, at this point, you’ll need to start making some decisions.

  • Do you or can you return home?
  • Or do you need to find temporary housing? In doing so, do not rush to any conclusions. Calmly and rationally assess your situation. Now may be the time to activate your contact list.

Long-Term Recovery

For a particularly severe event, recovery can take time, and lots of it. In fact, it can take years before a community regains a sense of normalcy. Emotional reactions really set in at this stage. Children, even some adults, may suffer from nightmares or depression. The disaster preparations you made and practiced will help through this tough time. If the concerns persist, seek professional guidance; there is no shame in doing so.

Again, keep your cool, yet stand up for yourself when that’s required. Be as flexible and resourceful as the situation warrants. Speed-up/Expedite the recovery process with your identity papers and financial records. If for some reason they are not in your evacuation kit, access those that you mailed to a friend and start things moving forward.

Disaster Preparedness—Resources

There is an amazing amount of public information out there about preparing for a disaster, with the most current being online. There is also much duplication, so go to these resources first, as we have found them to be the most helpful.

Immediate Resources:

National Hurricane Center Atlantic on Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/NHC_Atlantic

Firestorm on Twitter: http://twitter.com/firestormsol

To donate: http://american.redcross.org/site/PageServer?pagename=ntld_main&s_src=F8HWA002

FEMA Immediately After a Disaster: http://www.fema.gov/rebuild/recover/index.shtm

FEMA Resources for Alabama: http://www.fema.gov/news/event.fema?id=14192

USDA FSA: The Farm Service Agency provides assistance for natural disaster losses, resulting from drought, flood, fire, freeze, tornadoes, pest infestation, and other calamities.

http://www.fsa.usda.gov/FSA/webapp?area=home&subject=diap&topic=landing

American Red Cross—Disaster Preparedness

http://www.redcross.org/services/disaster/beprepared/—general information as well as that specific to seniors. Washington headquarters: (202) 303-4498.

Your local Red Cross is listed online or in the phone book.

American Red Cross—Disaster Preparedness for People With Disabilities

http://www.redcross.org/services/disaster/beprepared/prep.html information specific to those with disabilities

Wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/emergency_preparedness—largest reference web site on the internet—very informative

Medline Plus—Disaster Preparation and Recovery

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/disasterpreparationandrecovery.html brings together authoritative information from the National Library of Medicine, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and other government agencies and health-related organizations

DHS (U.S. Department of Homeland Security)

http://www.ready.gov/—information categorized by businesses, families and children

FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency)

http://www.ready.gov/are-you-ready-guide or http://www.fema.gov/spanish/ areyouready/index_spa.shtm—contains emergency response and planning information. Documents on various hazards can be downloaded along with fact and planning sheets.

http://www.fema.gov/pdf/areyouready/natural_hazards_1.pdf — helps you to determine local risks in the context of the following natural hazards: floods, tornadoes, hurricanes, thunderstorms, lightening, extreme storms, and cold

http://www.fema.gov/pdf/areyouready/natural_hazards_2.pdf —considers extreme heat, earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides, debris flow, mud slides, tsunamis or tidal waves, fires and wildfires

Google

http://maps.google.com/—good resource for printable maps

Google Earth

http://earth.google.com/—downloadable free maps

DPERA (The Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Response Association)

http://www.disasters.org/—multi-lingual site linking disaster professionals around the world

U.S. Department of Education

http://www.ed.gov/admins/lead/safety/emergencyplan/crisisplanning.pdf—a free downloadable book to help schools prepare for disasters

HHS (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services)

http://www.hhs.gov/emergency/index.shtml—disasters by type

Firestorm Solutions, LLC

https://www.firestorm.com/book/book.html—a free .pdf version of this book

Have something to add to this list?  Let us know in comments and thank you!

 

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