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Tag: hurricane preparedness

Be ready if a hurricane strikes

Written by SUN contributor on . Posted in Community News, Weather.

MANATEE COUNTY – Emergency Management Chief Steve Litschauer joined forces with Director Jake Saur and Manatee County Commissioner Carol Whitmore on Monday, June 22 to help prepare residents in the event a hurricane comes to the area.

While many things have stayed the same, such as the need to have food, water, medicine and other supplies for each member of your household, including pets, some things are changing this year due to COVID-19.

Shelters

One of the major changes this year is that the county emergency shelter capacity is reduced to 35% due to social distancing procedures. And while social distancing will be employed at shelters, Whitmore said that doesn’t mean that people coming to shelters will be safe from contracting the virus, even while wearing a mask.

“Shelters should be used as a refuge of last resort,” Litschauer said, asking that anyone who can go somewhere else outside of the evacuation zone make plans to do so now, before a storm strikes. If you must go to a shelter, you must bring all personal items including bedding, a cot or mattress, sanitary supplies and other necessary items.

Anyone who would need to go to a medical special needs shelter is advised to sign up now to make sure that space and equipment are available for them in case of a storm. Medical special needs shelters are open only to those who are oxygen dependent, electricity dependent or who suffer from Alzheimer’s or dementia. One caregiver or family member is allowed to accompany the patient, as well as a pet. To sign up, visit www.mymanatee.org/needs.

Sheltering in place and evacuating

If you live in a storm surge flood zone or a mobile/manufactured home and a hurricane comes this way, be prepared to evacuate. If you must evacuate, Litschauer says to go 10s of miles, not 100s of miles. He suggested planning to stay with a friend or family member or hotel outside of the evacuation zone but close enough that you don’t risk getting trapped in traffic during the storm or running out of gas in heavy traffic. If you do leave, take your hurricane kit with you and leave as early as possible to avoid long traffic delays.

If you can, Litschauer recommends sheltering in place at your home. Cover the windows and doors, if not hurricane windows, with plywood or hurricane shutters. Secure loose gutters, downspouts and loose shingles. Bring in your lawn furniture and anything that could become a flying projectile in the storm. Make sure your vehicles have a full tank of gas and that you have gas for your generator, if you have one. Trim tree limbs that could fall on your house and secure your garage door. Get sandbags early and use them to prevent water from creeping into your home underneath doorways.

To know your evacuation level, get information about the year your home was built, where your local shelters are, locations for sandbag pickup and other information helpful in an emergency, visit www.mymanatee.org/resident/information and enter your home address. To find out what local shelters and sandbag locations are open, visit www.mymanatee.org/emergencyinfo.

The year your home was built is valuable information in a storm emergency because it tells you what Manatee County building codes were in effect when it was built and estimates its wind resistance, not factoring in improvements, such as a new roof. Houses built before March 2002 were built to withstand 90-110-mile-per-hour winds at minimum standards. From March 2002-2012 those standards were raised to 130 mph. In March 2012, those standards were raised again to 150 mph where they currently stay.

Hurricane kits

Another change this year is that it’s now recommended to have enough food, drinking water, sanitary supplies, medicine and medical supplies for each member of your family for seven to 10 days, an increase from the previously recommended three to five days supply. If you have children, make sure to have comfort items, toys/games and kid-friendly foods in your kit. For pets, make sure to have food, water, a manual can opener, a copy of your pets’ medical records, a recent picture of you with the pet, a carrier or crate big enough for the animal to stand and turn around in, litter and a litter box, a collar with tags and leash and any favorite toys or blankets and bedding.

New this year is the requirement to also have masks, hand sanitizer and gloves to last up to a week.

If you take prescription medication, make sure to bring your medicine bottles with you in case you need a refill after the storm passes.

Litschauer recommends preparing now for a storm, not waiting until one is almost here, warning that some storms can turn into major hurricanes in as little as three days.

“Three days is not enough time to prepare and make your decision,” he said. “That’s why we want you to be prepared now.”

Emergency response

Emergencies don’t stop for a hurricane, but residents should only dial 911 to report an immediate emergency, such as a fire, theft, medical emergency or other life-threatening situation. Keep in mind that during a storm event, fire and EMS staff will not be able to respond to an emergency once wind speeds are sustained at 45 mph or higher. Law enforcement officials are required to stop responding to emergencies once wind speeds are sustained at 55 mph or higher.

For general questions, to learn what shelters are open, to find a sandbag location or learn what evacuations have been announced, call 311. You also can use 311 to find out utility information or ask questions about Manatee County government.

Manatee County government and its various departments also can be found on social media. On Facebook, look for Manatee County Government. On Twitter and Instagram, follow @ManateeGov.

To receive emergency alerts to your phone, text “ManateeReady” to 888777 or visit www.mymanatee.org/emergency to sign up for Code Red.

Visit www.toinformfamiliesfirst.org to register your emergency contact information for first responders in case of an emergency or accident.

To view a recording of the June 22 town hall meeting, visit www.mymanatee.org/townhall.

Lessons learned from Hurricane Irma

Written by Joe Hendricks on . Posted in Hurricane Guide Archives.

ANNA MARIA ISLAND – Hurricane Irma’s visit to the Anna Maria Island area in 2017 taught us how to better prepare for the upcoming hurricane season that starts June 1. When it comes to hurricane preparation, plan ahead and get an early start.

Generators

Extended power outages are common during and after hurricanes. If you’re thinking about buying a generator, doing it now alleviates the risk of not finding one later.

Before you buy, consider your specific needs and the many different types of generators.

Inverter generators are generally more expensive than conventional generators, but they run quieter and provide a more even electrical current that’s better for charging cell phones, laptops, tablets, video game consoles and other sensitive electronics. Conventional generators generally cost less and will also recharge or run your electronic devices.

Before Irma arrived, I bought a small, gas-powered 2,000-watt Wen inverter generator for around $450. During our three-day power outage, it powered a stand-alone air conditioner, a fan, and a lamp and recharged our electronic devices and camping lanterns.

Running a refrigerator/freezer, large appliances, and several items simultaneously requires a more powerful generator. A 5,500-watt conventional gas generator sells for around $700. A 7,500-watt conventional generator sells for around $975. Butane powered generators are also available.

A refrigerator uses about 700 watts of rated running wattage, with surges up to 2,200 watts. A 10,000 BTU window unit air conditioner needs approximately 1,200 running watts and surges up to 3,600 watts. A microwave needs 600 to 1,000 running watts of power. A toaster oven needs about 1,200 watts. Exceeding your generator’s capabilities can ruin it.

Some homeowners may opt instead for the added security of a permanent standby generator that’s wired into the home’s power system and activates automatically during power outages.

Never run a generator inside your home or garage. The carbon monoxide exhaust fumes created by a gas generator are deadly to humans and pets. When in use, place the generator in a dry, outdoor space and use a long extension cord and a power strip to get the power to its needed location. It’s also a good idea to have a battery-operated carbon monoxide detector inside your home when using a generator.

Fire up your generator before the storm arrives to make sure it works, and consider locking it up during use to prevent theft.

Gas

Gas and gas cans get scarce as a hurricane approaches, so plan accordingly. Consider using ethanol-free gasoline for generators, because it’s better for the tubing and other engine components. Marinas typically sell ethanol-free fuel, as do some gas stations.

Having a couple extra cans of gas for your car can also be a lifesaver when gas is hard to find and gas stations are closed or without power.

Plywood

Irma Hurricane Hanks
Get your hurricane season supplies early, especially if you need items like plywood to help protect your home or business. – Kristin Swain | Sun

If you don’t have hurricane windows or storm shutters, you may want to cover your windows with plywood, or with plastic or aluminum panels. Again, it’s better to buy now when these items aren’t yet in critical demand. If you drive a vehicle that’s too small to carry full-sized sheets of plywood or you don’t have the tools at home to resize your wood, some home improvement stores will do it for you at no additional cost.

Other matters

A camp stove, gas grill, and some extra propane tanks will provide you with warm meals during an extended power outage.

Sooner is better than later when stocking up on water, food, flashlights, batteries and other supplies and Facebook can be an invaluable source of real-time information when it comes to supply availability.

If you’re evacuating, leave early to avoid jammed highways and gas shortages. Reserve your off-Island, out-of-town or out-of-state hotel rooms early, too. By the time Irma arrived, most hotels in Florida and southern/central Georgia were booked full. If you decide later not to evacuate, you can cancel your room and free it up for someone else.

There’s an app for that

There are several cell phone apps that come in handy during hurricane season, including the new NOAA/Weather Channel Storm Radar app.

Regarding storm surge and flooding, the MyElevation app allows you to type in an address or location and get the elevation for that spot.

Facebook, Florida 511 and Waze are good apps for real-time travel and traffic information and the GasBuddy app is a good source of gas availability and prices.

Castles in the Sand

What’s in a hurricane name?

Written by Louise Bolger on . Posted in Business, Castles in the Sand.

Every year at this time we steady our nerves and go forward into hurricane season which tortures us from June 1 to Nov. 30. Not all storms during hurricane season are actually hurricanes; some of them are tropical storms, which can be just as deadly. But what about the names we give to these storms? Have you ever thought about how this happens?

First of all, a tropical system is named when it maintains sustained wind speeds of 39 miles per hour at which point it is officially a tropical storm. Many named systems never reach hurricane status, which is 74 miles per hour. Hurricanes and tropical storms began being named in 1953 in an effort to more easily identify specific storms when there are two or more systems active at the same time.

The storm names were originally only female until 1978 when male names were added. Names are in alphabetical order excluding Q, U, X, Y and Z and alternate between female and male names. Names are recycled every six years, and storm names that were particularly deadly or costly are retired and replaced. Thankfully, we’ll never have another Irma.

This year the names for the Atlantic Ocean storms are a repeat of 2013, the names are Andrea, Barry, Chantal, Dorian, Erin, Fernand, Gabrielle, Humberto, Imelda, Jerry, Karen, Lorenzo, Melissa, Nestor, Olga, Pablo, Rebekah, Sebastien, Tanya, Van and Wendy.

The first forecast for this hurricane season from Colorado State University is five storms with two of them reaching major hurricane strength. This is based on the cooler than normal sea surface in the tropical Atlantic Ocean providing less fuel for tropical cyclone formation and intensification. None of this, however, should encourage you to let your guard down; one of these two major hurricanes could easily have our name on it.

It’s time to assemble a hurricane kit that will help you if you stay in your home without power and also be portable if you have to evacuate. You should include three days’ worth of non-perishable food and water per person, a first aid kit, personal hygiene items, flashlights and batteries, a battery operated radio, cash and important documents (insurance policies and photos of your home, vehicles and vessels). Additional supplies can include a manual can opener, matches, books, games, pet supplies, coolers and ice packs and, most important of all, an evacuation plan for you and your family. For the plan, you should compile a list of hotels to evacuate to, as well as those that accept pets.

Batten down the hatches in your home by covering windows with shutters or wood, trim trees prior to storms, reinforce garage doors and bring in outdoor furniture and anything else that can blow into windows or siding. Tie down your boat with extra lines and remove canvas and sails that can unravel in a storm. Be prepared for the loss of power for a few days or longer. Make sure your cars have full tanks of gas and cell phones are fully charged. Fill bathtubs prior to a storm so there is water available for toilets in case water mains are impacted and again get some cash since ATM machines and banks will likely also be out of power.

Finally, my personal hurricane preparedness strategy is to not have a lot of food in the refrigerator, particularly raw frozen food. If a storm is coming, cook anything you can prior to the storm. It will last in coolers for a longer period of time and you don’t have to worry about rotting food in the refrigerator if you need to evacuate. Those of us who have lived in Florida for a long time are pros when it comes to hurricane season, however, it can never hurt to remind ourselves what needs to be done. Let’s hope we never get to Wendy, and she lives to be reinstated in six years. Stay safe.

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