The National Weather Service invites the community to be ready for hurricane season as part of the “Hurricane Preparedness Week,” which ends on Saturday.
The National Weather Service advises the community to make a list of items to replenish such as hurricane emergency supplies and start thinking how they will prepare their home for the hurricane season.
If you live in a hurricane-prone area, the National Weather Service encourages the community to complete the following preparations before hurricane season begins on June 1:
>>Determine Your Risk. Risk assessment is crucial to successful individual/family, business, and community outcomes since risk, loosely defined as threat x vulnerability x exposure, varies among individual/families, businesses, and communities.
>>Develop an Evacuation Plan. Know where you will go and make the arrangements for potentially long stays now.
>>Assemble Disaster Supplies. Whether you stay or go, supplies are vital to ensure a smooth transition during a difficult response and recovery period.
>>Get an Insurance “Check-Up”. Hurricane-prone Texans need up to three types of insurance (Homeowners, windstorm and flood). The center continues to emphasize the need for federally offered flood insurance, as flooding has been the primary natural disaster event in the RGV for decades.
>>Strengthen Your Home. Whether you stay or go, your home is your castle — there are hundreds of ways to make it stronger to survive a hurricane. This is a key component of risk reduction through structural resiliency.
>>Help Your Neighbor. Your neighborhood is a link in the community chain. The stronger each link is, the stronger the chain. That strength begins with knowledge within your neighborhood — from structural resiliency to human resiliency. The more we know collectively, the stronger the chain.
>>Complete a Written Plan. Now that you know everything necessary for your individual/family, business, or community to be safe, put it in writing. This is the plan that you’ll revisit to ensure all items are checked off well in advance of an approaching tropical cyclone.
The National Weather Service reports it only takes one hurricane to produce billions in property damages. In 2017, Hurricane Harvey was the only hurricane to make a direct strike on Texas since Hurricane Ike in 2008, the press release reads.
“Harvey produced at least $125 billion in property damage from all aspects (flooding rain, wind, surge, tornadoes), making it one of the highest per-capita damage producers on record in the U.S., and the highest in Texas,” the release reads.
For more information on how to prepare, visit weather.gov/wrn/hurricane-preparedness.
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