Hurricane Preparedness Day 7

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RALEIGH NC
800 AM EDT SAT MAY 19 2018
THIS WEEK IS NORTH CAROLINA’S HURRICANE PREPAREDNESS WEEK FOR 2018

Source

All week long the National Weather Service has issued informative messages to help you prepare for the
hurricane season. Today’s topic, the final in the series for this year’s hurricane preparedness week, is
complete your written hurricane plan.

The time to prepare for a hurricane is before the season begins, when you have the time and are not
under pressure. If you wait until a hurricane is on your doorstep, the odds are that you will be under
duress and will make the wrong decisions. Take the time now to write down your hurricane plan. Know
where you will ride out the storm and get your supplies now. You don’t want to be standing in long lines
when a hurricane warning is issued. Those supplies that you need will probably be sold out by the time
you reach the front of the line. Being prepared, before a hurricane threatens, makes you resilient to the
hurricane impacts of wind and water. It will mean the difference between your being a hurricane victim
and a hurricane survivor.

Here are some things to know about completing a written hurricane plan:
     • Writing down your plan will ensure you don’t make mistakes when faced with an emergency.
     • Document all of your valuables and possessions with a camera or video camera well before the
     storm.
     • Gather all vital documents, like passports and medical records, and put them somewhere that
     you can quickly access.
     • Make planning and preparedness a family affair to ensure everyone knows what to do.
     • Don’t forget to include your pets in your plan.
     • Every plan should include gathering non-perishable emergency supplies and assembling a
     disaster supply kit.
     • Share your plan with others in your family, and have an out-of-state friend as a family contact
     who knows your plan and where you will go during a disaster, so all your family members have a
     single point of contact.

To make developing your family emergency plan easy, be sure to download a free template that is
available online at http://readync.org.

For more information about hurricane preparedness, please visit the following web sites:
• http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/prepare
• http://www.readync.org

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