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STAYING
SAFE
Hurricanes are no joke. You need to be safe. Two days in advance, Hurricane Watches are issued for areas that a hurricane is predicted to hit. Then, 36 hours in advance, when it is known for sure what path the hurricane will take, a Hurricane Warning will be issued. Pay attention to what local officials say to know what to do.
Disaster plans help you know where to go to see your loved ones if you get separated during the storm. On your disaster plan, mark your family's meeting place for the duration of the tropical cyclone. Write who you will be with if your house is damaged. Put down any important phone numbers, talk about where you would go in case you need to evacuate, and make sure your pets are taken care of. They will get scared, and some places that you may go to seek out shelter during the storm won't allow animals, so check the rules of shelters that you might want to evacuate to.
A disaster kit is a kit that you can have with you during the storm, and you would be advised to prepare it in advance.
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To make a disaster kit, first plan and gather important supplies like safety pins, soap, latex gloves, sterile gauze pads, sterile adhesive bandages, scissors, eye wash solution, tweezers, antiseptic, moist towelettes, a thermometer, flashlights, ice packs, batteries, life jackets, a battery-operated radio, and enough food, bottled potable (drinkable) water, and any needed medicines to last at least three days. Next, find a tough container that you can seal and that is easy to carry. Pack your materials inside, tightly, so that water can't seep inside. Test in on a camping trip, and if something needed is missing, put it in. But that doesn't mean you should pack your whole house. If you over pack, the disaster kit can be to heavy and it can slow finding things down. You can choose if your kit is going to be a reusable kit or an emergency use kit. An emergency use kit lasts a couple days, while a reusable kit lasts from one week to one month.
Listen to the radio and watch the news. "It took us a while to realize how bad the damage was" says Emily Greenwalt, a survivor of recent Hurricane Helene. She and her family evacuated to Vermont and were safe. They say that it was important to have bottled water or water jugs, shelf stable food, food that doesn't need to be cooked, gasoline, chainsaws, and cash. Chainsaws were important because they could be used to cut wood if someone needed to get through downed trees, and cash was important because card readers didn't work without power.
If a mandatory evacuation is called, that means that if you can evacuate, you must evacuate. But even if a mandatory evacuation isn't called, if you can leave, you should. But if you decide not to go, close your windows, storm shutters, blinds, curtains, and whatever other protective instruments your home may have. Tell an adult if there are any broken tree branches in your yard. Bring in things that could blow away (garbage cans, outdoor furniture, etc.).
If you leave, make sure you have a full tank of gas, and know evacuation routes around where you live. You should still do this in case of emergency. Don't drive your car through still water. And only return when officials say that it is safe.
People board up buildings to protect glass from hurricanes. You should bard up windows and doors to protect them from powerful winds. Glass fragments can be blown through the air, which is dangerous.
Remain indoors during the hurricane and fill bathtubs and sinks with clean, cold water in case water gets contaminated or cannot reach. Stay in an interior room, like a hallway or closet, on the lowest level of your house, keep away from doorways and windows, even boarded up ones, lie on the floor with your family under a table, mattress or another sturdy object to protect yourselves from flying debris if it looks like the storm is going to hit your house, and use cell phones only for emergency calls to free up the lines.
If your home is damaged and you are forced to leave it during the storm, go to high land. It is harder to be flooded there. Stay there until it is safe to leave, according to an informed adult.
After the storm, stay inside until your parents/guardians say otherwise. You need to make sure the hurricane has passed, and you can do so by listening to weather reports. If the seems to calm down, the eye might just be passing overhead. When you go outside, stay away from flooded places. Be careful, because there can be dangers like downed power lines. Don't drink tap water until it is safe to do so according to local officials, because it might be dirty or chlorinated. Also, make sure your food isn't spoiled. Remember, "When in doubt, throw it out!" Check on neighbors and relatives that were affected. Some people who have been through this tragedy say that the best part was that so many people helped each other, right after the storm, in ways big and small. Every step counts.
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