All eyes ar eon the Carribean and on Hurricane Irene. Will she? Won’t she? That’s the question. Will the first hurricane of the Atlantic season also become the first major hurricane? Probably. Will she make landfall. Somewhere. What should you do to prepare (buy the book – well I would say that, wouldn’t I?)
But seriously, what preparation you do should be guided by a few pertinent questions you need to ask yourself:-
1) Where are you?
2) Do you have pets in the house?
3) Are you responsible for someone with special needs?
4) Do you have someone you feel responsible for staying in a care facility?
5) Do you have school-age children
6) Have you got a plan/checklist/guidebook/plan of action that you’ve used before?
Yes to 6) – go for it! Yes to 1) to 5) and No to 6) – think on, think on! Personal opinion buy the book. I’m serious; the free hurricane guides aren’t (personal opinion) detailed enough or simple to follow – if you want to get it RIGHT FIRST TIME. The government guides can be a bit overwhelming. Although the absolute best one I’ve seen is “Kids Get a Plan” – see one of my previous posts. BUT if this might be your first hurricane or you first tropical storm and you want to prepare properly (not just water, batteries and toilet paper) then my book is just what you want. (Take a look at reader comments and see if they ring a bell with you) Getting on the Upside of Hurricanes means what the title says – and means even more what the subtitle says – 1 Man, 4 Hurricanes, 358 Ways to Handle Storm and Flood. That’s 358 properly sectionalised, orderly, easy to follow, do some yourself and give some to the kids to do.
Now, let’s take a quick look at question 1) Where Are You? Because if you are nowhere near Hurricane Irene you have a long time to get everything right – for you, your home, your pets, your children – in case the next hurricane this season is going to go where you are.
Sooooo 5 days out and NOAA says some pretty useful things. There’s a 10 – 20% chance of Hurricane Irene delivering hurricane force winds to the east coast of Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina. That’s a 10 – 20% chance you’ll see winds exceeding 74 mph. You don’t live there? Great – where do you live?
Let’s drop that down a little and look at tropical storm force winds bothering you in the next 5 days. That’s winds from 39mph to 73mph (there’s not much difference between strong tropical storm force and hurricane force) Sustained winds of 39 – 50mph will bring much higher gusts and it’s those gusts that will damage your home and frighten your children – especially if your preparation was “buy water, get batteries” and do the other basic stuff in the free guides. That’s why Getting on the Upside of Hurricanes is about GETTING ON THE UPSIDE of the little monsters (hurricanes not children). Now let’s look at those tropical storm force winds. If you live in Punta Gorda (of Hurricane Charley fame) Irene brings about a 30% chance of getting those winds and if you are in Hurricane Andrew country that likelihood goes up to about 60% – and that goes for the whole Atlantic coast of Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina. Home in on that for a moment – Let’s look at 50knot wind speeds. That’s sustained wind speeds – not gusts, which will be higher. Punta Gorda is looking at a 5% chance of getting the impact of sustained winds of 50kts. Miami area, about a 30% chance and the other states’ coastlines will see – at this point in time, looking forward 5 days – about a 20% chance. These are forecasts and will change. Keep watching and I’ll post more as we get updates. Have a great day and decide if this week is your week to become a hurricane hero! Seriously – $12 for the book, $12.95 to get it to you by next day guranteed. And on top of that you get a brilliant story (even if I do say so, myself)