New to South Carolina? Get Prepared for Hurricane Season Now!
National Hurricane Preparedness Week
May 2022 started out with National Hurricane Preparedness Week! If you follow us (Strand Security) on Social Media, you’ve seen some of the posts.
We want to make sure that our blog readers are prepared as well.
FACT: The Atlantic Hurricane season runs from June 1-November 30.
Preparation for this Atlantic Hurricane Season, which is our season here in South Carolina, should start in May! Especially during this post-pandemic time with shipping issues and delays, getting your hands on supplies might become a challenging task.
- Need a generator? You better start looking!
- Need wood to board up your windows, better start saving money!
Pricing and availability of hurricane supplies are at a all-time premium.
Prepare Now. Be Safe When The Big Storm Hits!
According to NOAA, Hurricane preparedness needs to start in May. Being prepared for disaster can mean the difference between life and death.
Here are the things to start working on TODAY!
Before a storm hits, trim trees, secure loose outdoor items and store inside a garage or home, secure all doors, cover windows and move your vehicles indoors, or to another safe location.
Know what is covered, and what is not. This is of utmost importance if you live in an active hurricane zone like we do in South Carolina! First thing to do is to call your insurance agent, ak about whether you need flood insurance and get copies made of your insurance policies to add to your evacuation kit!
Whether you are brand new to the neighborhood, or you’ve lived there for decades, make a plan to check in with your neighbors. Not everyone has the funds or capability to evacuate. Make an emergency plan with your neighbors and keep in touch before, during and after the storm!
Learn where and when to evacuate! When it’s time to put a plan in motion, it’s too late to prepare! YOu will need to have all your ‘ducks in a row’ before the first named storm is headed your way! Hurricane supplies should be stocked in your home, a plan for evacuation should include a plan for your pets! (Search for pet-friendly hotels! We love the Best Western and Red Roof Inn chains as most will allow you to bring your pets. Be sure to check with each hotel about their pet policy)
Know when to evacuate and when it’s safe to stay! Evaluate your risk for all things hurricane! We highly recommend you listen to your local news stations for the most updated information about evacuation!
last but not least, this supply list should be an ongoing list! Try to get these supplies now, as it might take a while to gather all that’s needed for the next storm. We know from experience that there will be a run on
- gas
- generators’
- flashlights
- batteries
- cash
- bread
- milk
- cleaning supplies
- plywood
- chainsaws
- snacks
- and many other supplies!
Don’t get caught without the necessary supplies to stick it out at home!
If you can stay, stay! If you are asked to evacuate or seek shelter, please listen to the local authorities!
Prepare Your Home for a Hurricane With Smarthome Solutions
How can you prepare your home for the next hurricane?
Smarthome solutions like security cameras, remote locks, thermostats settings, water sensors and more can help you monitor what’s going on at home, even if you have to evacuate!
Come talk with us now and we will gladly help you prepare, whether this is your first ever hurricane season in South Carolina, or your 25th! We are here to offer support, advice and installation.
The Most Useful Hurricane Prep Tips – Lessons Learned from Hurricane Irma
Hurricane Prep Starts BEFORE the Threat of a New Hurricane
Yes, you read that right! Planning and prepping for the next hurricane starts now.
Here are some things to keep in mind as you start your hurricane preparations before the next hurricane threat arrives. These are tips from the experts at FEMA and NOAA and other government agencies tasked with keeping you safe!
- Know your hurricane evacuation zone
- Decide when to evacuate your family (Cat. 1, Cat. 2, Cat. 3 or when a mandatory evacuation is called for )
- Write a written plan for when your stay, including a supply list
- Write a written plan for when you evacuate, including a supply list
- Plan to include your pets
- Have more than one evacuation destination plans – you need to evacuate away from the pending storm.
- Talk to your neighbors about past storm experiences.
- Buy hurricane supplies now, before they become a valued commodity – think generator, drinking water, ply-board, canned goods, extra gasoline cans, extra propane tank for your gas grill and more.
- Take an inventory video of each room in your home.
- Scan all your insurance documents and important papers to store in the cloud.
If you’d like a more VISUAL HURRICANE PREP LIST, check out one of our earlier posts with a super cool hurricane prep infographic.
Now that you know how to start preparing for the next hurricane, let us check on some hurricane myths floating around the internet…!
What NOT to Do: Debunking Hurricane Prep Myths
From the Tampa Bay Times come these myths that have been floating around on Facebook and other social media sites this past week as Floridians prepared for Hurricane Irma to make landfall. People just keep sharing these over and over and over!
Have you heard these myths? Have you SHARED these myths on social media? Please stop!
- Crack your windows during a hurricane
- Taping up windows prevents them from shattering
- Hotels are required to house pets and service animals
- The dishwasher is a safe place to keep valuables you don’t want to get wet
- You only need to board up windows and doors that are facing the water
Do not take your advice from Facebook. Do not take your hurricane advice from ‘friends, families and neighbors’ reposting ‘copy & paste’ tips from who-knows-where. Instead follow the guidelines from FEMA and your local government agencies experienced in hurricane preparedness.
Hurricane Prep Tips To Seek Your Teeth In!
You can connect with FEMA on ready.gov to get started.
Another great agency for up-to-date hurricane information is NOAA.
We understand that sometimes reading these official government sites can be intimidating, so take care to always check your sources if you do read non government information on non government sites.
Hurricane Preparation and Family Emergency Planning Go Hand in Hand
If you have never made a family emergency plan, start today.
That includes making a plan for a tornado, hurricane, flood, fire or other natural disaster.
We hope you never, ever have to implement such a plan, but in case of emergency, you will be so happy to have a plan to refer back to to help you move forward.
As always, if we can be of assistance, do not hesitate to reach out to us!
A Mandatory Evacuation Leaves Your Home Unattended, or Does It?
Hurricane Hermine, go away!
This is what we are dealing with in Myrtle Beach right now as Hurricane Hermine is rolling in this Friday afternoon.
Pretty scary road conditions, right? And according to the local Myrtle Beach news stations and the Weather Channel, this is JUST the beginning.
This is also ‘just’ a category 1 hurricane turned tropical storm by the time it fully hits the Grand Strand.
Are you prepared for when the next storm hits?
What if the next one is the big one?
Do you know what to do and how to prepare?
When The Big One Hits; You Might Encounter a Mandatory Evacuation.
If you are new to the area or if you’ve never lived in a hurricane zone before now, you might never have experienced a mandatory evacuation before and let us tell you; it’s scary to leave everything you have behind – everything but what fits into your car.
Depending on where you live and your flood zone, you might be one of the first families asked to leave.
There are many ways to prepare for a possible evacuation and all we can say is; plan, prepare and be ready!
But once you leave… it might be a while before you allowed back into your neighborhood!
How Will You Know What’s Happening at Home?
Well, most people don’t know how things are back home once they evacuate! It’s one of the more scary things to encounter during hurricane season – beside losing power, flash floods, falling trees and loss of electricity… just to name a few things that can go wrong.
Here’s another scary thing about the mandatory evacuation; your neighbors will be evacuating as well and no one can keep an eye on your home and your property, or can they?
We Have C.O.P.S Monitoring Our Homes, Even During Natural Disasters and Hurricane Evacuations!
You heard that right!
If you have a Honeywell Total Connect security system in your home, YOU and YOUR MONITORING SERVICE will BOTH be able to keep an eye on your home!
Through the mobile app you will be notified of windows breaking, zones going out and if you have security cameras installed, you can do a physical check on your property as well!
You can do this from your phone or tablet and from the safety of a dry, warm hotel room or a relatives’ home; far, far away from the path of the destructive hurricane!
With Honeywell Total Connect you’ll have peace of mind like few others have when a hurricane rolls in!
Have a plan and be safe!
SIDE NOTE:
If you are a business owner, you will most likely have additional worries and concerns during a mandatory evacuation! It’s imperative to the continued success of your business that you not only have a security system in place during the next hurricane that rolls in, but that you also have a set of security cameras to record and show you in real time what’s happening in your business.
The only world we need to mention is ‘looting‘ and you’ll know what we are talking about!
Need a Security System, Stat?
Please let us know how we may help keep you and yours safe and secure!
How To Best Prepare for An Active Hurricane Season
Do You Know Your Hurricane Evacuation Routes?
If you live in the south (east) of the United States you have to know about hurricane season; really all up and down the east coast you can be affected by hurricanes at any time during the hurricane season. If you have just recently moved south – maybe you just got to Myrtle Beach and you are reading this, you might not really know what the ‘fuss’ is about! We run into newly relocated people (from up north) often and they really have no idea what kind of damage a hurricane can do; both the wind and the water can destroy homes on their own, but putting them together and you’ve got a ‘perfect storm’.
First and foremost, if you do live in the south, you should know your evacuation route and you should have a family emergency plan.
When Is Hurricane Season?
For our North Atlantic area, hurricane season starts in June and runs through November!
This means that as this is published, hurricane season is in full swing and we (meaning you, the reader, and me, the writer) should gets prepared NOW!
From experience, we know a few things about hurricanes. Here are some of the things we do and take care of each season to prepare for a hurricane.
Preparing For A Big Storm
✓ Keep a close eye on the forecast – know what’s happening and when to evacuate.
✓ Stock up on essentials BEFORE mention of any storm (because these supplies will be very hard to find once a storm approaches). Whether you stay home to ‘ride it out’ or you need to go to a shelter, even if you evacuate; you will need these supplies!
- flashlights with batteries
- extra batteries
- power-bank for your phones
- car chargers
- candles and/or hand-cranked light source
- supply of blankets and towels
- water supply – 1 gallon p/p per day
- dry milk
- canned food
- dry food
- cash (because ATMs will run out)
- filled up gas tanks (because gas stations will run out of gas)
- generator (optional)
- gas grill (with extra propane tank)
- plywood to board up your house (optional)
- masking tape to tape off your windows (optional)
- chainsaw (optional – comes in handy when trees are down!)
- create a portable toolkit
- stock your first-aid kit
- water-proof pocket file holder for all your paperwork (insurance cards, medical info, passports, proof of local residency etc)
- if you have pets: vet records, extra food and carriers (so they can evacuate with you)
- hotel reservations for up to 4 days in the city you are evacuating to, if you don’t want to stay locally in a shelter
✓ Let your family and friends know what your plans are and where you are headed!
✓ Connect with your neighbors – together you can figure out when to leave and when it is safe to return after a storm.
✓ Ask elderly neighbors if they have a plan – help them make arrangements if possible.
Here Is What The Experts Say About Preparing For A Big Storm
We found several great online resources for preparing and dealing with an approaching hurricane.
The best place to start is here.
Once you land on that website, you will find all of the following resources at your fingertips!
We recommend you familiarize yourself with this list, read it, act on the tips and then sit back, because along with you, we truly hope this is an inactive hurricane season and we will NOT see a major hurricane!
How Do You Prepare for a Hurricane?
Prepare, plan and stay informed and you will be fine!
We at Strand Security want all of our friends, family and customers to be safe and secure at all times. Our hope is you will start to think of a few things you can do now so that once a storm is approaching you aren’t fully unprepared to get ready. Feel free to ask us how we can help you!
Safety First! Make a Family Emergency Plan Today!
Does Your Family Have a Family Emergency Plan Yet?
An emergency is just that; ‘an unexpected and usually dangerous situation that calls for immediate action.’
Planning for emergencies is not an easy thing to do, since, well… they happen when you least expect it! However, having a PLAN does help you ‘take control’ of the unexpected, as far as that’s possible.
Plan for an Emergency by Doing Drills!
With kids going back to school this month, we thought it would be a good idea to review some family emergency plans. Just like your kids will be exposed to fire drills, earthquake drills, tornado drills, bomb drills or, at least here in South Carolina we do them; hurricane drills, at their schools. You should be planning for a home emergency as well by doing these types of drills with a written out plan, at your home!
On the website ‘disastercenter.com’ we learn that
- Disaster can strike quickly and without warning. It can force you to evacuate your neighborhood or confine you to your home. What would you do if basic services, such as water, gas, electricity, or telephones were cut off? Local officials and relief workers will be on the scene after a disaster, but they cannot reach everyone right away.
- Families can and do cope with disaster by preparing in advance and working together as a team. Knowing what to do is your best protection and your responsibility. Learn more about Family Disaster Plans by contacting your local emergency management office or your local American Red Cross chapter.
We then went to the Red Cross site and according to the Red Cross, creating a family emergency plan is “important to make sure that the entire family is prepared and informed in the event of a disaster or emergency. You may not always be together when these events take place and should have plans for making sure you are able to contact and find one another.”
The American Red Cross suggests some basic steps to make sure you remain safe:
- Meet with your family or household members.
- Discuss how to prepare and respond to emergencies that are most likely to happen where you live, learn, work and play.
- Identify responsibilities for each member of your household and plan to work together as a team.
- If a family member is in the military, plan how you would respond if they were deployed.
To read the full Red Cross article, click here.
FEMA also has some valuable information. They have created two downloadable family communication plans as PDFs, one for parents and one for kids.
Family Communication Plan for Kids
Family Communication Plan for Parents
These would be a great starting point for any family who doesn’t have a family emergency plan yet!
Do These Four Things To Keep Your Family Save in Time of Disaster and Emergency
To round out this article, here are four things to keep in mind and take care of today!
- Find out what can happen to you and your family.
- Create a family disaster plan.
- Complete your checklists.
- Practice and maintain your plan.
If you do all of these, you can rest just a bit easier when disaster strikes!
EDIT: March 2017
We received a beautiful email from a Girl Scout Troop. The girls in the troop are currently working on their first aid badges and we they have been talking about emergency preparedness. Our article provided a ton of info for the girls. In their research, they found another helpful resource. Today, we are happy to share it with you, too.
Check out this article by BePrepared.com
CREATE AN EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS PLAN FOR YOUR FAMILY
Get ready! You can never be too prepared!
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