Preparedness Tips

Get an emergency supply kit. Be sure to consider additional items to accommodate family members’ special needs:

• Books, games, puzzles or other activities for children
• Important family documents such as copies of insurance policies, identification and bank account records in a waterproof, portable container
•  Infant formula and diapers
• Pet food, extra water for your pet, leash and collar
• Prescription medications and glasses

Family Plan

Make sure your family has a plan in case of an emergency. Before an emergency happens, sit down together and decide how you will get in contact with each other, where you will go and what you will do in an emergency.

• Determine a neighborhood meeting place, a regional meeting place and an evacuation location.
• Identify an out-of-town emergency contact. It may be easier to make a long-distance phone call than to call across town, so an out-of-town contact is important to help communicate among separated family members. Be sure every member of your family knows the out-of-town phone number and has coins or a prepaid phone card to call the emergency contact. You may have trouble getting through, or the telephone system may be down altogether, but be patient.
• You may also want to inquire about emergency plans at places where your family spends time, such as their place of employment. If no plans exist, consider volunteering to help create one.

Talk to your neighbors about how you can work together in the event of an emergency. You will be better prepared to safely reunite your family and loved ones during an emergency if you think ahead and communicate with others in advance.

If you are a parent, or guardian of an elderly or disabled individual, make sure schools and daycare providers have emergency response plans:

• Ask how they will communicate with families during a crisis.
• Ask if they store adequate food, water and other basic supplies.
• Find out if they are prepared to shelter-in-place if need be, and where they plan to go if they must get away.

• Make sure you have appropriate supplies on hand.
• Take a critical look at your heating, ventilation and air conditioning system to determine if it is secure or if it could feasibly be upgraded to better filter potential contaminants, and be sure you know how to turn it off if you need to.
• Think about what to do if your employees can't go home.

Find out what kinds of disasters, both natural and man-made, are most likely to occur in your area and how you will be notified. Methods of getting your attention vary from community to community. One common method is to broadcast via emergency radio and TV broadcasts. You might hear a special siren, or get a telephone call, or emergency workers may go door-to-door. Contact a nearby Citizen Corps Council for help with emergency planning, or work with your local government and emergency management office to help start a Council in your area. Visit the Citizen Corps website to find local Councils or learn how to start one in your community.

Pets & Shelters

• Make arrangements for pet shelters; only a special shelter will not admit them. Advanced registration is required.
• Pet Hurricane Hotline: 954-266-6871

Tips

• Be prepared for taking care of elderly relatives or friends and their residences.
• Keep a list and photocopies of prescriptions and medications.
• Residents should remain in their homes during a hurricane unless there is a valid reason to leave.

Most new homes have been built to the high standards of the South Florida Building Code and many older homes were constructed with the destructive forces of a hurricane in mind. It's fairly simple to determine if you should go to a shelter.

Plan to go to a shelter if:

• Anyone in the household suffers from health related problems
• Don't get stuck in traffic or flooded areas
• Follow evacuation advisories
• If you plan to evacuate your residence, leave early
• You are in an evacuation zone and have been advised by authorities to evacuate
• You just don't feel safe
• You live in a high-rise building
• You live in a mobile home or you are staying in a trailer or tent
• Your residence is in a deteriorated condition

What to Bring

• Bring food, medicine, water, medical supplies, pillows, blankets and personal care items
• Bring such items as books, magazines and games for children.
• Know your evacuation route if you plan on leaving your residence and plan what you should bring with you
• Shelters have limited supplies

When a Hurricane Watch is Posted

• Add extra chlorine to pool water to avoid contamination
• Bring loose outdoor objects, like trash cans, potted plants, lawn furniture, etc. inside
• Carry identification with you such as a driver's license
• Clean your bathtub thoroughly; wipe with unscented bleach; rinse tub and let dry; fill with water to serve as a sanitary water reserve
• Cover windows with shutters or plywood
• Don't open the doors unless absolutely necessary
• Fill the gas tanks of all vehicles and have cash available
• Freeze water in plastic containers and use to fill in space and keep food cold
• If you have a boat, store it in a garage or warehouse. Otherwise, be sure the boat is well secured to the trailer and attach the trailer to something that is firmly planted in the ground. Deflate the trailer tires for additional stability
• Raise the settings on your refrigerator & freezer to the coldest temperature;
• Store important documents and valuables in waterproof containers and place in the highest possible location
• Turn the power off to your pool pump and cover it with plastic
• Unplug your TV prior to disconnecting a satellite dish

• As the eye (center) of the hurricane passes over, continue to stay indoors unless emergency repairs are needed. It's unpredictable when the other side of the hurricane will arrive with potentially worse weather than before.
• Stay indoors. Weather conditions usually deteriorate quickly just before a Hurricane's worst weather arrives.
• Strong winds may cause structural damage and may create deadly projectiles out of loose objects.

If Winds Become Strong

• Brace exterior doors, especially double-inward opening doors and garage doors.
• Close all interior doors.
• Identify a clear escape path in the event of a fire.
• Keep a battery-operated radio or TV, flashlight, and a gallon of water with you.
• Lie on the floor under sturdy objects.
• Stay away from windows and doors even if they are covered.
• Take refuge in a small first-floor interior room, closet or hallway.

• Avoid injuries after a hurricane
•  Avoid standing water as it may be contaminated
• Be careful with equipment such as a chainsaw
• Consider every power line deadly, whether or not it seems to be live
• Continue to listen to weather reports from the National Hurricane Center and local officials
• Do not call 911 except for life-threatening emergencies
• Do not refreeze thawed food. If possible, cook and refrigerate it
• Do not report individual interruptions of electric, gas, water, or telephone service
• Do not use your telephone except for emergencies.
• Do report downed power lines and broken gas or water mains
• Most injuries following a hurricane occur as a result of carelessness with equipment
• Never go near or touch a downed power line
• Never use a grill (gas or charcoal) indoors; it may cause carbon monoxide poisoning
• Remain indoors until an official "all clear" has been announced
• Report individual trouble only after general service has been restored to your area