Each year, coastal states such as Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina are at great risk of having a hurricane make landfall and causing flooding, high wind damage, hail and tornados to businesses and homes. Some people may experience loss of power, loss of homes and more. If you are on the coast, we encourage you to follow instructions of local law enforcement.

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EVACUATE

If you are asked to evacuate, please leave and do the following (in no particular order):

• Make sure you have uploaded insurance information (health, life, home) and other important documents to your account at UrgentVault.com

• Make sure you share access to the information in UrgentVault.com to a loved one or care person just in case.

• Medications (pack your medications and take them with you)

• Pack two gallons of water (you never know, you may get stuck on the highway somewhere or you might need to share your water with someone)

• Clothes for at least 3 days

• If driving your vehicle, make sure you have enough fuel to get to the next location where you can get more fuel.

• Call, Text or email someone let them know your plans.

 

STAY HOME

Depending on the Category Level of the Hurricane and the location of where you live, you may be able to stay home and ride out the storm or you may not be able to leave where you live. If this is the case, we recommend the following:

• UrgentVault.com – have health insurance, home insurance, vehicle insurance and other important documents loaded in you UrgentVault.com and share the profile with the appropriate person.

• Fill a bathtub with water. Fill pots with water. Fill plastic containers with water. – the temperature after a hurricane is normally high as hurricanes happen in the south in the summer months and early fall months. You need to have plenty of water on hand. After hurricane Katrina, we lost electricity for 3 weeks. However, we had running water where we lived. We were blessed. While other areas didn’t have power and/or running water.

• Have working flashlights – you will most likely lose power as a result of hurricane winds knocking down power lines, trees and utility poles. Each night, the only light you might have is a flashlight. In the last hurricane we went through, we found lights you were able to wear on your head helped us more. Go ahead and stock up on a couple of those.

• Food – before hurricane season starts, make sure you are able to build a supply of food for 3 days. We encourage food items which don’t require cooking. When you cook on a gas stove or burner in a house without electricity, you only add to the heat level in the house.

• Cellphone & battery backup – when hurricane Katrina rolled through the area, cell phones stop working as many towers had been knocked down. However, texting on some services still worked. It is important to make sure your cellphone remains dry and functionable. It is also very important to have a battery backup as there may not be any way to charge the phone. Another option for charging your phone is to have a solar panel storage device.

• Identification – when you stay home, please write your name and am emergency contact phone number on your arm with a sharpie. If you are found unconscious, EMS will at least know who you are and a number to call to advise on medical condition.