Hurricane Sandy brought back many memories of previous hurricanes that I experienced while I was living on the East Coast. I resided in North Carolina for 8 years. While living there I got the pleasure to experience a few minor and major hurricanes. I lived on a military base, in a mobile home, for a majority of the time that I resided in NC. During each storm we were evacuated and had to seek alternative places to stay.
Families Have Plenty of Time To Prepare for a Hurricane – Don’t Wait Until the Last Minute
Hurricane preparation is a must if you live near coastal waters. After, Hurricane Sandy made a bee line up the coast during the last few months of the 2012 hurricane season, many people probably figured out that it is important to keep a hurricane box or emergency kit handy. Having a hurricane kit readily available will keep you from having to run from store to store to buy basic items such as batteries, flash lights, canned food (make sure you rotate the canned food yearly to avoid having spoiled food), generator, ect. when the supply is limited.
Please Heed Evacuation Warnings
If you are in an area that has been told to evacuate, please heed those warnings. I know it is a pain to leave your home and attempt to try to find an alternative place to stay. But your life is invaluable and the weather is very unpredictable. Many people feel as if they don’t have to prepare if they don’t live directly on the coast; however, tropical storms and hurricanes are widespread and you might find yourself unprepared .
Make sure that you find an alternative place to stay if you live in areas that are prone to flooding under normal circumstances or if you live close to a river. I remember during Hurricane Floyd, the coastal areas didn’t flood hardly at all but if you traveled inland there was widespread flooding.
It seemed that citizens listened and heeded the evacuation warnings during Hurricane Sandy. The death toll would have been devastating if residents along the coastline didn’t evacuate. I think many people learned their lesson and evacuated after what happened a few years ago with Hurricane Katrina.
