Hurricane Tips for Neophytes

Are other people on your block, particularly people who have lived there a while, evacuating? If so, you need to get out of there now. Waiting until the hurricane hits is too late and too dangerous.

No one is evacutating.   I live in a tiny town.  We're on the 58 mile an hour wind report when you see the hurricane map (right near Willingboro, NJ)  The only thing I'm worried about is the water.  If we do flood I don't think it will be too bad.  I'm expecting no electricity and possible flooded basement.

This is the statement we're getting:

https://local.nixle.com/alert/4724410/

Entered By:

Edgewater Park Township Police Department

Entered On:

Saturday August 27th, 2011 :: 12:10 a.m. EDT

Public Notice From Beverly – Edgewater Park Emergency Management about Hurricane "Irene"

Public Notice From Beverly – Edgewater park Emergency Management

Below are recommended Pre-Hurricane Preparations offered by the Beverly – Edgewater Park Emergency Management team.

· Stay indoors, first and foremost. Remain calm and do not panic.
· If you have a medical condition and or emergency CALL 609-386-7304 or 911.
· Do Not Call 911 unless it is a life threatening or a fire emergency.
· Review your home safety plan and remove hazardous conditions such as low lying power strips.
· Secure outdoor fixtures
· Check in on your neighbors to make sure they are OK.
· Expect high winds and rain for a minimum of 12 to 15 hours.
· There is a very high expectation of power outages.
· Stay in place unless notified by emergency personnel to do otherwise.


Evacuation Instructions


If any resident will need to evacuate your property, contact Central Communications at (609) 267-8300. Shelter will be provided at Ridgeway Middle School.

Please keep SAFETY FIRST!

Whew. Ok. I was worried. You sound so close to the water. Be safe!

Go to the ATM and withdraw funds. Certain credit card machines run off telephone lines, and, if the lines go down, you don't want to NOT be able to purchase something. This is especially important if you're evacuating. Also, if you're evacuating, don't let your gas gadge hit or get close to empty before you decide to get gas. You never know when you'll find a gas station that actually has gas - or even when you'll get there through all the traffic.

Never been through a hurricane, but I live in TX so we get a lot of travelers here if there is a big one coming towards the gulf coast. Good luck to all and stay safe!

Excellent reminder!

When the stores do finally reopen, they are often on generators and their computerized pay systems still won't be working. Happened to me after Isabel. Some places took checks, but very few. Cash is king.

I have to laugh, I went over all this with my husband last night. I'm leaving today for work and I am not coming home, so he has to fend for himself.

I advised him to get a car charger for his mobile. Luckily, our ancient house came with good, old-fashioned wall phones, so he'll have that, too.  I ran out on Thursday morning and stocked up on protein bars. We have stockpiled water, and since we don't have well water, we don't have to worry about the toilet situation. They will work.

The stores here were out of supplies yesterday. No water, batteries, flashlights, etc. Luckily people were ignoring the beef jerky. I bought canned goods for the husband and kid. I have a bunch of sterno left over from the housewarming party, so they can cook.

If you have gas in your home, be alert for gas line problems! PSE&G just sent out a hurricane warning email with lots of tips. Don't go into a flooded basement if you lose power.

If something happens to the water plant, say contamination from flooding, water may be cut off. My sister went a week where, even though she had water, the fecal content was too high to use it for cooking or cleaning. They SAID you could brush your teeth with it as long as you didn't swallow it. Yeah, right.

Have a safe trip and best wishes to your family!

Subject: How to be prepared for a hurricane - instructions with a smile!

Any day now, you're going to turn on the TV and see a weather person pointing to some radar blob out in the Atlantic Ocean and making two basic meteorological points.

(1) There is no need to panic.

(2) We could all be killed.

Yes, hurricane season is an exciting time to be in North Carolina. If you're new to the area, you're probably wondering what you need to do to prepare for the possibility that we'll get hit by "the big one." Based on our experiences, we recommend that you follow this simple three-step hurricane preparedness plan:

STEP 1: Buy enough food and bottled water to last your family for at least three days.

STEP 2: Put these supplies into your car.

STEP 3: Drive to Nebraska and remain there until Halloween. Unfortunately, statistics show that most people will not follow this sensible plan. Most people will foolishly stay here in North Carolina.

We'll start with one of the most important hurricane preparedness items: HOMEOWNERS' INSURANCE: If you own a home, you must have hurricane insurance. Fortunately, this insurance is cheap and easy to get, as long as your home meets two basic requirements:

(1) It is reasonably well-built, and

(2) It is located in Nebraska.

Unfortunately, if your home is located in North Carolina, or any other area that might actually be hit by a hurricane, most insurance companies would prefer not to sell you hurricane insurance, because then they might be required to pay YOU money, and that is certainly not why they got into the insurance business in the first place. So you'll have to scrounge around for an insurance company, which will charge you an annual premium roughly equal to the replacement value of your house. At any moment, this company can drop you like used dental floss. Since Hurricane Hugo, I  have had an estimated 27 different home-insurance companies. This week, I'm covered by the Bob and Big Stan Insurance Company, under a policy which states that, in addition to my premium, Bob and Big Stan are entitled, on demand, to my kidneys.

 SHUTTERS:

Your house should have hurricane shutters on all the windows, all the doors, and -- if it's a major hurricane -- all the toilets. There are several types of shutters, with advantages and disadvantages:

Plywood shutters: The advantage is that, because you make them yourself, they're cheap. The disadvantage is that, because you make them yourself, they will fall off.

Sheet-metal shutters: The advantage is that these work well, once you get them all up. The disadvantage is that once you get them all up, your hands will be useless bleeding stumps, and it will be December.

Roll-down shutters: The advantages are that they're very easy to use, and will definitely protect your house. The disadvantage is that you will have to sell your house to pay for them.

Hurricane-proof windows: These are the newest wrinkle in hurricane protection: They look like ordinary windows, but they can withstand hurricane winds! You can be sure of this, because the salesman says so. He lives in Nebraska.

Hurricane Proofing your property: As the hurricane approaches, check your yard for moveable objects like barbecue grills, planters, patio furniture, visiting relatives, etc... You should, as a precaution, throw these items into your swimming pool (if you don't have a swimming pool, you should have one built immediately). Otherwise, the hurricane winds will turn these objects into deadly missiles.

EVACUATION ROUTE:

If you live in a low-lying area, you should have an evacuation route planned out. (To determine whether you live in a low-lying area, look at your driver's license; if it says "North Carolina," you live in a low-lying area). The purpose of having an evacuation route is to avoid being trapped in your home when a major storm hits. Instead, you will be trapped in a gigantic traffic jam several miles from your home, along with two hundred thousand other evacuees. So, as a bonus, you will not be lonely.

HURRICANE SUPPLIES:

If you don't evacuate, you will need a mess of supplies. Do not buy them now! Tradition requires that you wait until the last possible minute, then go to the supermarket and get into vicious fights with strangers over who gets the last can of SPAM. In addition to food and water, you will need the following supplies:

23 flashlights, and at least $167 worth of batteries that turn out, when the power goes off, to be the wrong size for the flashlights.

Bleach. (No, I don't know what the bleach is for. NOBODY knows what the bleach is for, but it's traditional, so GET some!)

55 gallon drum of underarm deodorant.

A big knife that you can strap to your leg. (This will be useless in a hurricane, but it looks cool.)

A large quantity of raw chicken, to placate the alligators. (Ask anybody who went through Andrew; after the hurricane, there WILL be irate alligators.)

$35,000 in cash or diamonds so that, after the hurricane passes, you can buy a generator from a man with no discernible teeth.

Of course these are just basic precautions. As the hurricane draws near, it is vitally important that you keep abreast of the situation by turning on your television and watching TV reporters in rain slickers stand right next to the ocean and tell you over and over how vitally important it is for everybody to stay away from the ocean.

 

OMG. ROFL.....too funny. I know this is a serious situation for lots of people, but this post just brightened my day and made me laugh (sitting at a volleyball tournament and DH looking at me strangely).

ROFL ~ SNORT ~ ROFL~ SNORT!!!!!