- North Carolina has had more than its share of natural disasters and storms, including hurricanes, over the past few years
- The best way to survive and endure a hurricane is to prepare for it before hand
Your North Carolina Touchstone Energy cooperative offers the following tips to help you prepare your family for a hurricane:
- Discuss the type of hazards that could affect your family
- Know your home’s vulnerability to storm surge, flooding and wind
- Locate a safe room or the safest areas in your home for each hurricane hazard
- In certain circumstances the safest areas may not be in your home but within your community
- Determine escape routes from your home and places to meet
- These should be measured in tens of miles rather than hundreds of miles
- Have an out-of-state friend as a family contact, so all your family members have a single point of contact
- Make a plan now for what to do with your pets if you need to evacuate
- Post emergency telephone numbers by your phones, and make sure your children know how and when to call 911
- Check your insurance coverage – flood damage is not usually covered by homeowners insurance
- Stock non-perishable emergency supplies and a disaster supply kit
- Monitor the radio and make sure you have plenty of batteries in case the power goes out
- Replace its battery every six months, as you do with your smoke detectors
- Take First Aid, CPR and disaster preparedness classes