Hurricanes are no joking matter. They can leave thousands of people devastated with no place to go home. If you aren't prepared, any hurricane could be catastrophic. A category 5 hurricane can produce winds that exceed 156 mph! If the proper precautions aren't taken, you and your loved ones could be in great danger. This essay will explain how you can properly prepare yourself for a category 5 storm.
First, you should buy enough supplies to support you and your family for one to two weeks possibly without power. You should buy your supplies well in advance in order to have an abundance of materials. According to Rick Knabb, the Director of the National Hurricane Center, “If you wait until the hurricane is on your doorsteps, …show more content…
you are going to be waiting in long lines and they could even be out of the stuff you need.” Many of the items that you buy before a hurricane won't go to waste because they are non perishables. Next, you should protect your home because it is most people's single largest investment.
Well before a storm you should take a video inventory of your property and its contents, gather your important documents, and consider purchasing flood insurance. According to Allstate Insurance Hurricane Preparedness Guidelines, ”A home inventory can also help facilitate the claim process if your property is damaged by a covered loss as a result of a hurricane.” Having a good home inventory could save the homeowner thousands of dollars in losses.
Furthermore,the second step to protecting your home is tracking where the hurricane is going to make landfall. Once you have determined that the path of the hurricane is coming to your area, you should put the shutters up, clear items around your house that can be swept away, and secure your garage door.
Lastly, you should always have an evacuation plan if it looks more severe than you are willing to risk. You should always be ready for an evacuation, whether you are given 2 or 3 days or just a few hours. According to the website Ready.gov, ”Planning ahead is vital to ensuring that you can evacuate quickly and safely, no matter what the circumstances.” While evacuations might be difficult, they often save people's
lives.
To conclude, hurricanes are very devastating and can change your life forever. With the proper precautions you and your family should be able to survive a category 5 hurricane.