I know a lot of my Fubu bros along the East Coast are likely to be impacted by the hurricane as it treks along the coast. The models earlier in the week showed it drifting out to sea but this mornings model showed it hugging the coast, with potential of going inland around North Carolina or out to sea. They suspect tens of millions could be impacted by this storm in all the major cities, including Washington DC, Baltimore, New York City and even Boston.
An e-mail I received moments ago is copied; a lot of it is common sense but it's probably worth a read if you're along the coast...
Quote:
Hurricane Irene’s projected path has been moved further west which means we can expect a substantial impact from this storm starting Saturday. Just as with hurricane Isabel in 2003, we can expect to have damaging high winds and torrential rains associated with Irene. Expect flooding along waterways and low lying areas. Utility interruptions are likely and should be expected to last for several days. Make sure you prepare yourselves, your workplaces, and your homes for the worst case scenario.
* Develop and publish a family disaster plan describing how you’ll react should something go wrong. Make sure family and friends have each others contact info and know what you’re going to do and where you’ll be going should you have to evacuate your home. Make sure you include out of town contacts and locations to reunite should you become separated. Provide your home, work, and cell numbers in your plan, but don’t expect that communications will be operational during a storm or its recovery.
* Make sure children know how to dial 9-1-1 and that they are aware of your disaster plan. Put a copy of the plan in each child’s pocket in case they become separated from you. Emergency personnel can use this to help reunite you with your child.
* Inquire about emergency plans and procedures at your child’s school and at your workplace.
* Make sure your vehicle is running properly and has a full tank of gas. If power is out, you may not be able to get fuel. If you decide to store a container of fuel, make sure it is in an approved container, is sealable, and is not stored in or near your house or vehicle. If you can’t safely store it… don’t buy it
* Before the storm approaches, remove or tie down anything on your property that might be picked up and thrown by the wind. Consider putting yard furniture and other yard items in the garage, under the deck, or anyplace that the effects of the wind will be reduced. If you cannot remove these items, rope or chain them to a tree or other solid object. Trim back any trees or bushes that may impact your home in high winds, especially windows.
* Identify and prepare your homes safe area. A safe area may be in the center of the lower level of your home. You want to avoid exterior walls and windows. Avoid large rooms… smaller rooms are stronger as there is less square footage between supporting walls. If you cannot avoid a window, tape the inner pane of glass with duct tape or heavy window film. This won’t prevent the glass from breaking, but it will reduce the likelihood of the glass shards being sprayed through the room should the window break. Consider shuttering or boarding up the outside of the windows in your safe area. Keep the drapes closed. Put a mattress against the window. The more you have between you and the exterior walls, the better… but don’t trap yourself.
* Make sure you have enough food and water to last your family for at least three days. Bottled water is a good choice, but you can store tap water in empty soda bottles and/or food grade 5 gal buckets. Food should be non-perishable and require little or no preparation prior to eating it. Remember, if utilities are out, you may not be able to use your stove. Don’t forget pet food. Store your emergency rations in or near your safe place.
* Assemble your emergency kit. Emergency kit should include flashlight and spare batteries, candles, battery operated radio, medicines and first aid kit. Your emergency kit should also include raingear and safety goggles for each member of your family (the type with the elastic bands to keep the goggles on your head). Keep tools and materials that you could use to make emergency repairs, or free yourself should you become trapped in your home. Hammers, nails, shovel, saw, plastic bags, tarps…. Whatever you have on hand may come in handy. This kit should be stored in or near the safe area in your house.
* Have games and other activities available for the children. Extra batteries if needed.
* Fully charge your cell phones.
* Have a grill and extra fuel to use after the storm in case the utilities are interrupted. Do not store fuel in or near your home. Lock it in your shed. Never use a grill indoors, or even close to the house. Sterno is useful.
* If you have an emergency generator, make sure it is running properly. Fuel should be kept away from your home. Never run a generator inside of your house or garage. Combustion gasses are deadly and there is a real risk of fire.
* Assemble all important documents and keep them in a fire and waterproof vessel. Keep cash on hand. If power and networks are down, credit and debit cards will be useless.
* Do all of your laundry prior to the storm hitting. Have pillows, blankets and or sleeping bags assembled in or near the safe area of your house.
* Turn your refrigerators and freezers to their coldest settings and keep the doors shut. In the event of a power failure, this will keep your food colder longer. Refrain from opening your reefer doors unless absolutely necessary.
* As the storm approaches, fill your tubs and trash cans with water. In case of a utility outage, this water can be used for hygiene and to flush your toilets as necessary.
* Stay dressed in durable clothing and footwear. This will save you time should you have to leave your home in a hurry.
* Do not leave pets outdoors. Keep dogs on a leash and cats in a carrier. Make sure pets have ID tags.
* Stay in your safe area. Do not go outside. Stay away from the windows. If an emergency occurs and you must leave your home during the storm, stay together… wear safety goggles.
* After the storm, make sure you get out and survey your property for damage. Check on family, friends and neighbors… especially the elderly.
* Stay off of the roads until emergency crews have finished any repairs and debris clearing. If you are on the road, do not drive through flooded areas. If traffic lights are out, treat the intersection as a 4-way stop. Give a wide berth to emergency vehicles and utility crews.
My insurance company advised that I take pictures of my property before the storm. They said if the worst happens that those pictures will be pretty valuable to the adjusters who come out. If yer a home owner (car owner) make sure you take pictures of your house (inside and out) as well as your vehicles. Also, take pictures of your appliances, furniture, closets (clothes), pictures, DVD/Games, etc. It'd be wise to upload them to the internet so they can be accessed in case something happened to your computer or camera. Any valuables and sentimental items (pictures, wedding albums, jewelry, passports, tax information, etc.) should be stored in plastic trash bags and put in a 'safe' area of the home (somewhere where trees can't come busting through walls or windows to damage those items).
I know I'm being all serious but I'd hate to see any of us get hurt or have our stuff damaged because we didn't plan ahead. Just be safe, take pictures/video and prepare to share stories (if any) whenever it all passes. Should be interesting to see the damage (if any) in all of our areas.
Be safe guys.
