Your PRIME Prep Checklist

Are YOU ready for Hurricane Season? Bring on the Spaghetti Forecasts!

Welcome to June everyone! With the hotter temps, the water gets warmer and we are around the corner from hard rains and storms on our shorelines. This means the risk of Hurricanes hitting our coastal neighborhoods are real, and its up to you to be prepared. That, or join the thousands of people lining up for bottled water and batteries a day before the storm hits! We put together a quick guide for you to follow so you and your family can stay safe this season, without having to fight with the headaches of last second preppers.

So what can you do?

Many people out there know they want to be safe but don’t exactly have a plan to do just that. It’s important to have a disaster-proof plan to keep you and your family safe this season, so here it is!

What exactly can you do? Here is a breakdown of what you should do, brought to you by our friends over at NOAA.

• Gather Information
• Plan & Take Action
• Recover
• Resources

STEP 1: Let us help you gather information!

The first step to making you and your family a plan, is to gather that vital information about your home. Are you in a flood zone? What evacuation zone do you live in? Assess your risks and know your home’s vulnerability to storm surge, flooding and wind. This is all important when it those sirens go off and the weather channel is telling you to scoot out of town. There are many tools online to find these answers but we are here to help! Simply give us a call at 877-727-5259 and we will find out all the info that you need!

Secondly, it’s a great idea to gather up all the important contacts that you could possibly need.

• Emergency Management Offices
• County Law Enforcement
• County Public Safety Fire/Rescue
• State, County and City/Town Government
• Local Hospitals
• Local Utilities
• Local American Red Cross
• Local TV Stations
• Local Radio Stations
• Your Property Insurance Agent

STEP 2: Plan & Take Action

Being prepared for the unexpected is critical. Your friends and family may not be together when disaster strikes. How will you find each other? Will you know if your children or parents are safe? You may have to evacuate or be confined to your home. What will you do if water, gas, electricity or phone services are shut off? Food? Water? Alcohol? (just kidding, kind of)

Well, as a full-time prepper myself…I like to stay READY at all times. The easiest way to do this is to simply get a practical supplies kit for yourself, family and shelter. You can find these online at Amazon, or you could do what I did and make one yourself! Here is a great guide for you follow if you would like to make your own! Just head over to our friends at Ready.gov and follow along! Its really quite simple! You don’t have to go out and get it all together in one day either… Take some time and find good deals on supplies and always utilize savings you can find online. It is 2019 after all!

You will also want to come up with a good plan for yourself and your family when things go down! Be mindful of these important things:

1. Protect yourself and family with a Family Emergency Plan
2. Be sure to plan for locations away from home
3. Pet owners should have plans to care for their animals. The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention offer information on animal health impacts in evacuation shelters.
4. Prepare your boat and be aware of marine safety if you are on or near the water. You don’t want your boat or PWC to get damaged or go missing!

Lastly, remember to be mindful of your evacuation procedures! Review the FEMA Evacuation Guidelines to allow for enough time to pack and inform friends and family if you need to leave your home. You should FOLLOW instructions issued by local officials and leave immediately if ordered! Consider your protection options and risks when deciding whether to stay or evacuate your home if you are not ordered to evacuate.

STEP 3: Recover

As simple as this sounds it is important to wait until it is declared safe to return to your home after a storm. Coastal flooding and downed power lines make for hazardous situations and could be potentially life threatening. Emergency response teams like EMT will not be able to access you if you happen to get hurt. Something small like breaking your ankle could be game-over. So be mindful of the rules of returning home and keep yourself safe!

STEP 4: Resources

There are many resources to help you along the way and we want to volunteer as your #1 resource! Always just give us a call or send us a message on Facebook and we would be overly happy to assist you in preparing you and your family for the upcoming season.

Other than us, here is a short list that NOAA suggests:

• FEMA – Are You Ready? Guide
• National Weather Service Weather Safety
• Be a Force of Nature with NOAA’s Weather-Ready Nation
• NWS Storm-Ready Sites & Communities
• Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA)
• Ready.gov Kids
• American Red Cross

Good luck this season and remember that we here at PRIME have your best interests in mind. Always just a call or message away!