Hurricane Season How Can You Prepare for It

As we waited to return to the New Orleans area to see what was left of our house after hurricane Katrina, our area was visited by hurricane Rita and that storm summarily squashed any hope we had left of recovering anything. When we finally saw our house and our entire neighborhood, there was nothing to salvage and we could only stand in awe of the destructive power of these mighty storms. What did we learn from this experience? How can anyone prepare for these kinds of disasters?

We quickly learned that there is a short range preparation and an equally important long range preparation but sadly most people have not thought beyond the short range. Almost everyone knows the short range preparations as they are repeatedly issued each year. Boarding up doors and windows, removing objects that can fly around, and shutting off utilities like electricity and gas. Then there is the constant vigil of keeping up with the latest coordinates and the path of the storm, making arrangements for places to stay away from the storm area and the all important hurricane evacuation routes. These preparations are not to be taken lightly, but they are not all there is to think about.

I...