Hurricane Preparedness Blog

Just a short time after Hurricane Gustav and Hurricane Ike made landfall, the tropics are eerily quiet.   Up until last week, it seemed as though new tropical cyclones just kept coming, and now we are once again in the calm- for now.  With over two long months left in this busy hurricane season, let’s take advantage of this quiet time, however short-lived it may be.

The latest hurricanes highlighted these facts: as a hurricane threatens, supplies diminish, lines for necessities grow longer, and when essentials sell out, the unprepared are hit the worst.  Americans couldn’t avoid the pictures and news reports of residents desperately trying to stock up on fuel, food, and other hurricane supplies both before and after Hurricanes Ike and Gustav.

Hundreds of thousands of people still remain without power in the aftermath of Hurricane Ike.   Without a generator, no power means no lights, no basic cooking, no air conditioning, no everyday life as we know it.   Take a moment to imagine what even a few days are like without electricity.  Makes you a lot more thankful for that comfort, doesn’t it?

However, if we finish preparing now, when we encounter these uncomfortable times we will have the ammunition to make them less uncomfortable.   By taking basic steps to prepare for storms, you may not have to wait for hours to purchase drinking water, or frantically evacuate without important documents or medicines that you could have placed in an evacuation kit beforehand.  Hurricanes may be part of life, but by not preparing, we can make the situation worse than it already is.

Please log on to OneStorm today to create, update, review or finish your hurricane plan.  So far it has been one busy season, and it could very well stay that way- make a pledge to finish your hurricane plan before the next named storm.

Hurricane Gustav should make its approach into the Gulf this weekend, so shortly after Fay departed.   Perhaps you are thinking what we are:  not again!

All citizens along the Gulf coastline should be concerned-  the latest advisory shows that many areas of the U.S Gulf Coast could be affected.  And, the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico could spell rapid intensification.   The only plus is that we still have some time to prepare.

As you are finishing your hurricane plans and collecting the resources you need, we are prepared to help you out as the storm approaches.   Due to the great response we received from our last storm resources blog, Tropical Storm Fay Resources, we’ve started another:  Hurricane Gustav Resources.

As Gustav closes in and reaches the U.S. coast, we will be posting everything from road closures to boil water notices, from each affected county. Much of this important information can be spread throughout the web, and difficult to find, which is why we’ve decided to build a blog for every major tropical cyclone that threatens the U.S.  As soon as we create each blog, we will post the announcement on the main OneStorm home page under “Hurricane Headlines,” and, of course, we’ll inform you of the new site here on the Hurricane Preparedness Blog, too.

Although we won’t officially start posting information until Gustav starts into the Gulf, we already have some valuable tools on the site for you to use.   Visit Hurricane Gustav Resources, then check the upper right corner of your screen.   Notice the tab, “Track the Storm.”  This will allow you to track Gustav as it travels.   Next, look under “Send Me Your Questions.”  We would love to hear from you before the storm, during the storm, and after the storm.   We’ll be available at all these times to answer any specific preparedness or Gustav-related questions we can help you with.