Ready or Not

Galveston - If a hurricane were to hit Galveston County tomorrow, would your family be prepared?

Having a family emergency plan for the hurricane season is essential to your family’s safety, experts say.

The Texas Department of State Health Services has launched the third phase of its “Ready or Not? Have a Plan” public education campaign, emphasizing family preparedness for the storm season.

Kurt Koopmann, public information officer for the Galveston County Health District, said the campaign was established to encourage people to make a plan. The campaign focuses on three main elements: family, essentials and information.

The campaign stressed the importance of preparing now and not waiting until you hear a weather forecaster predicting a hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico.

“It is important to talk with everyone in your family now,” Koopmann said. “Know where your family is going and where you are going to meet if separated during an evacuation.”

It is important to make sure you are taken care of and that provisions have been made for every member of the family, he said.

Koopmann said in terms of essentials it is important to have food, water and any medications you or members of your family may need.

It is important to have all essential documents on hand, such as driver’s license or passport, insurance policies, health cards and prescriptions. Keeping these documents in a waterproof bag ensures their security, he said.

Preparing a disaster supply kit is important so that you and your family can have essential supplies. Disaster supply kits include nonperishable foods, bathroom tissues, bleach, hand sanitizer, flashlights, battery-operated radio and plenty of fresh batteries.

The Web site texasprepares.

org offers people an alternative way to prepare a custom plan for evacuation. This site has been established for all types of disasters but for the Gulf Coast hurricane preparedness is strongly emphasized.

Those people without Internet access may dial 211 for help finding local sites that offer free Internet access.

Lori Douglas, a member of the Ready or Not campaign, said, “a lot of people already have kits made but will use ours as a checklist to make sure they have everything.”

Preparedness is one of those issues you cannot stress enough, Koopmann said.

“It is important to register ahead of time so you’re not wondering, ‘How am I going to get out of here now?’”

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Hurricane preparedness tips for families

How do you find your loved ones if you’ve been separated during a disaster?

Experts offer this advice:

• As a family, decide on a friend or relative that each person in your family will call, e-mail or contact in the event you are separated. Consider choosing a person who lives in another town or state who won’t be affected by the same disaster.

• Tell each family member to call that person and let them know your situation.

• If cell phones are not working, try using a land-line phone at a neighbor’s or friend’s house or a public telephone. Have coins or a prepaid phone card ready to use.

• Keep contact numbers and meeting places taped to the inside of binders, notebooks, book bags, wallets or purses. Your emergency plan should include all the phone numbers you might need.

• If you have trouble getting through on the phone during an emergency, keep trying.

• Write the lists in waterproof ink so they won’t smear.

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Make your plans now

Here are some smart planning tips:

• Start putting an emergency supply kit together now, including: flashlight, extra batteries, extra eye glasses, bottled water, nonperishable food, dry clothes, bedding, insurance information, important documents, medications, copies of prescriptions and special products for babies, the elderly and medically fragile family members.

• If you have an emergency supply kit already, double check it and make sure water and other supplies are fresh. Keep a NOAA weather radio and batteries.

• Make a checklist of what you need to do before you leave and review it.

• Make sure you and your family members have the name and phone number of a friend or relative outside your city or state so that anyone who becomes separated from the group can telephone to let others know their situation.

• If you plan to stay in a hotel or motel, make reservations and confirm your reservations before you leave.

• Learn evacuation routes from your area before storm season. If possible, drive the route to get familiar with it before hurricane season. Make sure you have a full tank of gas before you leave. Some traffic congestion is inevitable. Expect delays and longer drive-times than normal situations would allow.

• Contact your local county emergency management office to get information about anyone in your household who may need special assistance during an evacuation.

• Plan what you are going to do with pets and livestock.

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Preparing businesses

If a hurricane is threatening the area where your business is located, you can take actions ahead of time that could help minimize damage and lost productivity, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency.

The following are steps business owners can take to help prevent business losses from the destructive power of hurricane force-winds.

• Clear out areas with extensive glass frontage as much as possible. If you have shutters, use them; otherwise, use precut plywood to board up doors and windows.

• Remove outdoor hanging signs.

• Bring inside or secure any objects that might become airborne and cause damage in strong winds.

• Secure display cases. Use plywood to protect glass display cases or, if possible, turn the case’s glass side toward an inside wall.

• Store as much merchandise as high as possible off the floor, especially goods that could be necessary for survival and in short supply after the storm.

• Move merchandise that cannot be stored away from glass and cover it with tarpaulins or heavy plastic.

• Secure all goods in warehouses off the floor, and place sandbags in spaces where water could enter.

• Remove papers from lower drawers of desks and file cabinets and place them in plastic bags or containers on top of the cabinets.

• Turn off water heaters, stoves, pilot lights and other burners.

For More Information Contact:
Kurt Koopmann
Public Information Officer
Galveston County Health District
409-938-2211 or 409-392-0007
kkoopman@gchd.org