Day 95: 2020 Pandemic. Florida Cases Are Surging and Hurricane Season is Upon Us. Are you prepared?
The glass is half full, and there’s a crack in it. Sadly, we’re seeing a surge in infections in a number of states that have relaxed their pandemic protocol, such as it was. We have no Federal protocol; no coordinated Federal response; no Federal rushed production of PPE. We’ve only got ourselves.
I’m putting the standard hurricane preparation information below, but you need to factor in COVID-19. If you are evacuating, how to do you protect yourself and your family? Do you know where you will be staying? Do you have enough gas to get you there? Can you disinfect after gassing and if you have to stay in a hotel room? If going to be with relatives, do your families have a way of isolating from each other? There are many elderly people in Florida and this all has to be taken into account. If you’re going to the local shelter, be aware they will become hot spots for the virus and make your decision based on that. The best thing. Evacuate as early and as far as possible as possible.
HURRICANE
Evacuate.
That sounds so simple, yet just today I read an article while researching about a family killed because they refused a mandatory evacuation for Hurricane Sandy. Their house had been robbed when they evacuated previously and they didn’t want that to happen again. What happened this time makes a robbery look like such a not bad thing. Hurricanes, unlike tornadoes, move slowly. So you will have warning and time to get away.
Most of the preparation for a hurricane you’ve already done in preparing your house. There are some special actions you can add:
Board and tape windows. Plywood is best for covering window. For taping, use alligator tape, not duct tape. Masking tape is not useful.
Fasten your roof down to the house with tie down straps. Really long ones. You need to have these on hand before the hurricane is coming.
Turn off gas and/or propane.
Clear away debris that can be picked up and smash into the house and windows.
Secure all outdoor furniture. If you have a pool, put the furniture into the water.
