Don’t wait until a hurricane is headed your way to figure out a plan. Learn how to prepare for a hurricane now to keep your family safe in the future.
Create an evacuation plan
If you live in a hurricane-prone area, formulate an evacuation plan now so you’ll be ready when a storm comes. “Blue-sky days” are the time to plan, says Reid Loper, vice president of CrowderGulf, a disaster-recovery and debris-removal business in Mobile County, Alabama. Loper says that’s when you’re thinking with your rational mind and you’re less likely to make knee-jerk decisions. Don’t wait until the skies are threatening.
“Plan out where your nearest shelter is and the different routes you can take to those shelters,” Loper adds. Call ahead to shelters and hotels to make sure they can take your pets, and listen to local authorities. Many natural disaster survivors wish they had evacuated when warnings came. If you are not asked to evacuate, the safest place to be is an interior, lower-level room away from windows, according to the National Weather Service.