6 Basic Ways To Prepare For A Hurricane Emergency

The skull face image of Hurricane Matthew is indeed menacing. It's amazing how many people in Florida and South Carolina are being evacuated--into the millions. Costco and Home Depot are flooded with people buying up the remaining bottles of water and chip board in last minute preparations before evacuation. The storm has already taken 11 lives in Haiti, and is now surging into the souther United States.

CNN Weather shows the skull face image of Hurricane Matthew.

But what do you do to prepare for a storm of this calibre? 

1. Know the evacuation route: Listen to your national weather station that will alert you to the evacuation routes. If you don't have a short-wave radio, it's best to have one beforehand. 

2. Put together a disaster supply kit: including a flashlight, batteries, cash, first aid supplies, and copies of your critical information if you need to evacuate.

3. Have adequate supplies on hand: When you look at photos of people hitting Costco for water and other last minute supplies, you can see the desperation. You don't want to be part of that. It's best to stock up when you can.

4. Remove debris: Loose branches from trees can cause serious damage. Before the storm, remove any dead or loose branches and limbs from trees.

5. Secure your home: Retrofitting to secure and reinforce your roof, windows, and doors will reduce property damage. This is what people are doing when you see images of them boarding up the windows and doors and roofs. It's an important part of securing your home.

6. Safe room: Remember the movie the Panic Room? Well, many people are building such rooms into their homes; and they can be a very good way to hunker down through a hurricane. 

These are basic preparations. If you're not in an evacuation area, don't feel too confident and start wandering around in your car--best to stay home. If you have a generator, you might need it. Turn your refrigerator and freezer to the highest temperature, and open only when necessary; that way, if you lose power your food will stay colder longer. Stay tuned to your local weather station for all updates. Charge your phone so you'll have a full battery in case the storm changes and you have to get out of dodge.