Depending on where you live, the weather can become violent with respect to hurricanes, tornadoes, lightning, gusty winds, floods and winter storms. The best way to deal with what nature throws at you is to be prepared and have a good general understanding of the weather. The weather can destroy your life in a matter of seconds.
HURRICANE SAFETY RULES
Pre-Season
1) Stock supplies:
batteries, flash lights, lanterns, battery operated radio, bottle water, non-perishable food, wood to board up large windows, plastic sheeting for quick repairs.
2) Determine elevation of home and flood risk from coastal flooding or stream flooding.
3) Make a family hurricane plan. If evacuated, know where you are going and how long it will take to prepare your home and safely get to shelter before weather deteriorates.
Pre-Storm
1) Fuel car
2) Pick up all loose outdoor objects
3) Board up large windows
4) Clean bathtub and sinks and fill with water
5) If home may flood, evacuate
During Storm
1) Stay inside
2) Stay tuned to latest storm information via television or radio
3) Remember that the primary goal during a hurricane is to keep yourself alive and to minimize personal injury. The safest place for anyone is a permanently constructed house that is outside the flood zone. You should stay in your house if it meets these conditions, and leave the evacuation routes and shelters to the people who live in mobile homes and in flood zones.
LIGHTNING SAFETY RULES
Remain indoors when at all possible
- If caught outside:
- Do not stand under tall trees, telephone poles, chain link fences, clothes lines
- Try to be lower than your surroundings
- Disperse any groups
- Find a ditch or ravine to lie in.
- Seek shelter in an all-metal car – not a convertible
