If you live along the Texas Gulf Coast you are probably just like me: tired of Hurricane Ike and all of the talk about him. I liken him to a pain in the butt that just won’t go away. Earlier today “he” (hurricanes are called by their masculine or feminine pronoun) was projected to make landfall near King Ranch in South Texas. Then around 4pm with the NOAA update he moved north and was going to hit Madagoria County and Bay area. Now the 1am NOAA update has him hitting Galveston which means I need to figure out what I am going to do and fast! Since Gustav is fresh in my mind I believe I will be evacuating but I am not sure whether to head east to my parents or west to Mike’s sister. If I knew what the hurricane was going to end up doing it would be very helpful!
In my three years of living in Houston I have noted that about half of the population is not from Houston. This can be problematic if you happen to be someone who is not from a hurricane prone area. So with all of this talk of evacuation and preparation, what do you really need to do if you are going to evacuate?
- Determine which direction you will evacuate to. Try to go in an area not in the cone of probability. For example, if you live in Houston and the hurricane is predicted to make landfall in Galveston, you would not want to evacuate to Beaumont because that is still within the cone of probability and the hurricane could shift and end up hitting you over there. The best way is to go North or in our case, west to San Antonio.
- Once you have a location picked out, call and make a hotel reservation. Reservations are able to be easily canceled so do not worry if you decide not to show up. You do want to ensure that you have a place to stay so make sure not to skip this step.
- Pack! Rule of thumb is to pack for 3-5 days. I tend to over pack a little and pack more like 5-10 days. You want to ensure you have enough to last you until it is determined to be safe enough to go back home if there is flooding or a large loss of power.
- When you pack don’t forget things like: jewelry, items of special meaning, photos, and important documents. I keep copies of all my important documents in an accordion folder at the apartment and the originals in a safe deposit box.
- If you are in a flood prone area or are unsure about flooding, try and pick everything you can off the floor or prop up on cinder blocks as best as possible. Also move items away from your windows and try to bring in everything that is “loose” outside. Loose items become hazards in a wind and rain storm.
- Unplug! As you complete your final check before leaving make sure to remember to unplug everything and turn off the water. This will ensure your electronics do not get fried from power surges and if something happens to the water lines your house/apartment will not flood from the pipes.
- Gas up your car, grab some food for the road and get out of town!
I hope these tips are helpful and everyone in the path of Ike and any other storm out there stays safe.
Tags: hurricane, storm preparation