While the forecast track of Hurricane Elsa is unpredictable and uncertain, if you live in Florida this storm might affect you later this weekend.
I wanted to put this diary up to help raise awareness for those who might be new(er) to the arrival of a significant tropical system and to help instill calm and confidence through providing useful, actionable information and advice as well as a forum to discuss these topics.
First, the most critical thing is to have good, accurate information. Decisions based on bad information lead to bad results and, when dealing with tropical systems, that might mean increasing the threats to your life, safety, or property.
Get storm-related forecast information directly from the National Hurricane Center / National Weather Service or from your local weather forecasters. Here is the suite of products available for Elsa, which is readable and understandable to any layperson. It does not contain all the hype that you will find on cable TV or elsewhere on the internet. The NHC will issue updates at least four times a day and more frequently as the storm approaches land and watches and warnings are issued (typically eight times a day and sometimes more often). Understand that “the cone” for the storm indicates the probable location of the center of the storm. The effects of any tropical system can be felt very far — sometimes several hundred miles — from its center.
Second, when it comes to emergency preparedness and, especially, information on evacuations, take advice from the professionals in your local community. Find the website for your county’s emergency management services and read it. It’ll be full of information about where to go and how to handle special situations like if you have disabilities or pets that might make evacuation either more difficult or not possible. The site for my own county is located here. Google “[your county name] emergency management” and you’ll find yours. It’s a critical resource. Understand what evacuation zone you are in and heed the order to evacuate.
Third, time is your best asset to ensure the maximal protection of your life, safety, and property. It’s never too late to prepare. Here are some practical things you can do to prepare for a storm:
Prepare your home: outside. Clean up your yard. Get all the debris out of it. Remove anything that can or might be blown around: furniture, potted plants, bird feeders, garden gnomes, recycling bins, trash cans. Put all this stuff inside. Prune and trim your trees and remove all deadwood. It makes post-storm clean-up much easier and reduces the chances that you’ll have damage from flying debris. Encourage all of your neighbors to do these things, too. Protecting the homes in a neighborhood from storm damage is a communal effort. Clear your gutters out: you’ll need them. Go around the neighborhood and make sure all the storm drains are clear and clear them if they’re not. Do NOT lower the water in your pool. Shock it and turn off the electricity at the box to its mechanical equipment when the storm approaches.
Prepare your home: windows and doors. These are points of vulnerability: losing them means losing the roof as wind enters and literally lifts it off the house. Shutter or board up your windows (with plywood), if you can. Duct taping windows is worthless. Don’t bother.
Prepare your home: inside. Think about where water might intrude (leaky roof? windows?) and move anything you don’t want to get water damaged away from those locations. Walk through your entire home (and outside it) and video record its condition and contents in great detail.
Mobile and manufactured homes. You must evacuate when told to do so. Period.
Prepare to shelter in place. You might be staying, even if you want to go, so prepare for it. Identify a “safe room”: interior of the house, windowless, ground floor, typically a bathroom. You need food and water for three days. You don’t have to buy water, just fill containers and cap them (or cover in cling wrap). They’ll last several days on your counter. Fill milk jugs 75% full and freeze them. You now have post-storm ice and, eventually, drinkable water. Post-storm, you’re eating stuff that will spoil and then you’re moving into canned and prepackaged stuff. Things that can be grilled are fantastic. A Coleman camp stove is very useful after a storm. A weather radio is a key piece of gear. Play with it now so you know how it works. Fill your bathtub with water, which you can use for cleaning and flushing toilets. If you stay, understand that public safety personnel will not respond to calls for service, under any circumstances, once the storm begins — typically when sustained winds hit 40mph. You’re on your own during that time — which could be half a day or more — so be aware of that and comfortable with it. Literally, you will not get a response from 911, no matter what the emergency is. If you’re not ok with this, then reevaluate whether you’re ok sheltering in place.
Prepare to leave. You might be leaving, even if you want to stay, so prepare for it. Don’t go on a road trip! This is pointless, wasteful, and dangerous. Evacuate and shelter locally in your community. All you’ve got to do is to get out of an evacuation zone. Where I live, that’s just a few city blocks. So talk to local friends, family, neighbors, or colleagues ahead of time and make plans to assist each other with shelter for a few days if possible.
Important documents and papers. There are two categories of things you want to take with you when you leave. The first is stuff you need immediately after the storm like cash, medications, identification (DL; proof of citizenship), information on medical and homeowners/renters policies, that video you took of your home and its contents, and critical medical records (prescriptions; doctors names and numbers). Things like marriage licenses, birth certificates, and tax and banking documents are readily replaced and not immediately necessary post-storm. The second category is stuff that’s irreplaceable or exceptionally valuable (and portable): old family photos, treasured heirlooms, grandma’s jewelry, that stamp collection that has been maintained by four generations. Everything else is an insurance claim: leave it. If you can put some or all of this stuff into a safe deposit box, do so now.
Firearms. If you’re evacuating, make a plan for your guns and ammo. Is where you are going a place where you can legally possess firearms? Don’t leave guns in your home, even in a safe, if you are evacuating. “Waterproof” safes aren’t and thieves and looters — who will arrive in evacuation areas before the storm has even passed — will be especially looking for firearms. Never leave a firearm in a vehicle. That’s where thieves will look first.
Prepare for your return. Gas up all your vehicles several days before the storm arrives (that’s tomorrow, if you live in South Florida). Fill gas cans for running chainsaws and other equipment to clear debris after the storm or for refueling vehicles or generators. Check all the belts, hoses, etc. in your car: take care of maintenance now. Ensure that you have an ample supply of charged external batteries to run your phones, computers, etc. Understand that you might be without power for many days or longer. If your community is habitable, food, bottled water, and gas return quickly. Understand that comforts like electricity, potable tap water, air conditioning, and the internet do not.
Be a good post-storm neighbor. Obviously, ensure that it’s safe to go outside or return to your home, first. Power lines, precarious trees, damaged buildings, shattered glass — there are a lot of hazards out there. Neighborhood clean-up is a communal activity: it goes very fast if everyone helps out, so lend a hand. Part of helping out is staying out of the way of first-responders, utility crews, and others who have a job to do. Do NOT go out to sight-see and gawk at the damage. If you don’t live or work there, stay out of storm-damaged areas. Be mindful of running your generator: they are loud, not everyone has got one, and we all need to sleep. If you’re sharing your power, you’re awesome and will be a treasured neighbor for years. If you’re not, you’ll be marked as a selfish jerk for years. Choose the former. Neighborhood cookouts and potlucks to consume the soon-to-spoil contents of our fridges and freezers are a good way to bond with others and lessen the stress of a pretty unpleasant situation. Share ice, power, and gas, if you have those things.
In conclusion, be prepared and, above all else, be safe. Hurricanes comes with the territory living in this part of the country. It goes without saying (but I’ll say it anyway) that not every storm requires every action listed here. But have a plan and put some real time into thinking about and preparing for what you’re going to do and when you’re going to do it based on the intensity of the storm, your risk of being exposed to it, the hazards that are unique to your property (elevation, large trees, flood risk, etc.), and your life situation (kids? elderly? mobility issues? pets?). Stay safe.