Hurricane Preparedness

Ok, so I haven't lived in Florida in 10 years, but I was unfortunate enough to be an Orlando area resident when we got our first direct hit from a hurricane in 40 years. And then our second, a few weeks later. And then our third, about a month after that. I dare you to call FEMA before a second hurricane is about to hit and ask them about the procedure for updating or creating a new claim from a second hurricane before the first was addressed. 11 years ago they literally laughed at me. And said that doesn't happen.

Well folks, mother nature is unpredictable sometimes, so it's not usually a good idea to say something "can't" happen. Just ask Colorado residents about shoveling white frozen stuff in June.

But, back to the common sense portion of this post: everyone thinks to empty the supermarkets of water and bread and shelf stable foods before a potential hurricane strike, but...
- do you have a corded phone (if you have a land line) in case the power goes out?
- do you have ice and coolers or a plan to cook any items in your fridge/freezer (without power)?
- do you have tarps (yes, those blue things come in handy when your roof goes AWOL)?
- do you have strips of wood and nails to secure those tarps (if you get hit by another hurricane before the roof is repaired, you'll thank me)?
- do you know that when the street lights are out, the intersection should be treated as a four-way stop (hint: most people either don't know this or they ignore it)?
- do you know that driving right after the hurricane is likely to get you some flat tires from nails that end up in the road (assuming your roads aren't blocked by downed trees, fallen electrical wires, or flooding)?

No, this is not an exhaustive list. But these are a few tidbits from someone who made it through FEMA laughing at her; watched her neighbor's flimsy plastic sheeting flapping over their roof in 2 hurricanes because it wasn't secured properly; benefited from a neighborhood grilling cookout to get rid of frozen food; saw her roommate get flat tires from nails in the road while driving around the next morning; and survived large intersections by making as many right turns as possible.

So, good luck - and hopefully this isn't your year. The hurricane parties aren't worth the aftermath.