05.25.10
Personal Preparation
It’s just a week away! The 2010 Hurricane season is almost here and are you ready! Sure you may have your shutters ready, have your flood insurance, wind insurance and maybe even an evacuation plan but are you ready?
This week’s hurricane prep tip can be summed up pretty easily: have a plan. Just as you prepare your property for a potential storm you need to be prepared too. First, not every storm we get here causes us to evacuate. In this case you’ll need to have a storm kit assembled. It should include at a minimum: food, water, flashlights, batteries, radio and a first aid kit. There are many suggestions for a personal survival kit and you can check them out at www.coastalstormshutters.com.
This topic goes beyond the basic survival needs though. You should have accurate and up to date important papers stored in a lockable fire and waterproof safe, preferably one that’s easy to move. These records should include passports, birth certificates, marriage licenses etc. Having these documents safe will give you piece of mind and help reestablish your life after a disaster.
Along the same lines, if you have any property you’re protecting then you probably want to inventory it. It will help any claims process go a bit smoother if you can prove to the insurance adjuster what exactly you had. A good tip here is to be sure to take photo’s or video of high value items to actually display what condition they were in before the event. Once the inventory is complete store that in the safe too.
Taking these simple steps can help you recover quickly after a storm and give you piece of mind during the season. As always stay tuned as our next topic covers evacuation planning.