Keeping Your Family Safe During Severe Tropical Weather Events

Posted: August 21, 2023 1:53 pm

As the calendar travels deeper into August, the tropical waters in the United States Atlantic and Gulf Of Mexico coasts often grow more active with tropical activity. This places those living in and around such waters at greater threat of experiencing destruction severe weather phenomena like hurricanes and tropical storms possess the capacity to produce.

Though often dangerous and potentially deadly, you, your family, and your personal property might be able to escape relatively unscathed should you practice vigilance and attentiveness when such extreme weather looms.

Critical Terminology

Preparation is paramount to surviving these harsh weather events. Gaining knowledge is a significant aspect of being prepared. You might already realize that hurricanes and tropical storms are major weather events. However, you may not be able to provide an answer if asked to describe said phenomena in detail.

Important Terminology

Tropical Storms

A tropical storm is defined as a cyclone-like, low-pressure system forming in an ocean or other expansive body of water producing winds ranging from 34 to 73 miles per hour.

Hurricanes

Hurricanes are similar in design and nature to tropical storms only larger and more powerful. A hurricane is loosely defined as any tropical storm producing 74-mile per hour winds of greater.

That said, hurricanes are also divided into five distinct categories on what is known as the Saffir-Simpson Scale. The range is from one to five with one being the least destructive and five capable of bringing about catastrophic outcomes.

Watches And Warnings

In addition to understanding the true definitions of these events, you are urged to become familiar with associated advisories sent out by national, state, and local weather and emergency preparedness authorities. The two most common cautions are watches and warnings. Regardless of the alert posted for your area, these bulletins must be taken seriously and are the first step in initiating storm preparedness efforts.

Watches

Tropical storm or hurricane watches mean that winds sufficing each category will impact said regions within the next 48 hours.

Warnings

Meteorologic and emergency service agencies issue warnings when tropical storm or hurricane force winds are expected to strike a specific area within the next 36 hours or less.

Preparation

Preparation is a multi-step process requiring you and your loved ones to maintain a high level of alertness before, during, and after the storm.

Pre-Storm Readiness

Document An Emergency Plan

The first phase of preparation should commence well before watches or warnings are issued. This involves sitting down as a family and documenting an emergency plan.

This clearly authored outline should include important details, such as emergency phone numbers, information about the nearest shelter in the event you are required to evacuate, and different routes you can employ to safely arrive at said location should traffic snarls or weather conditions create travel problems.

Emergency planning should also include strategies regarding where to house your pets if you cannot bring them to your intended destination and an emergency preparedness kit equipped with essentials like bottled water, non-perishable food items, medications, important valuables, portable radios, important personal documents and batteries.

Prepare Your Vehicle

Readying your vehicle for escape should occur as early on in the process as possible. This means ensuring the car’s gas tank is full, equipping the vehicle with its own emergency preparedness kit, and making sure that the automobile’s maintenance is optimal.

Ready Your Home

Preparing both your home’s interior and exterior could prove paramount to preserving property or remaining safe should you choose not to evacuate or be unable take such action.

On the inside, you are implored to tightly cover doors and windows using storm shutters or plywood, fill bottles with fresh, clean drinking water, collect flashlights or other light illuminating devices and place them in easily accessible locations, and ensure your carbon monoxide detector is functioning properly.

When referencing your house’s yard and property, all discernible items, such as grills, bikes, toys, patio furniture, and building materials should either be packed and locked down or placed inside a safe, indoor location.

Listen For Continued Updates

Above all, you should listen to television and radio news reports discussing the storm’s track, take all alerts seriously, and evacuate if instructed to. If you reside in an evacuation zone and cannot leave on your own accord, you are strongly urged to contact local law enforcement and request assistance.

During The Event

Stay Indoors

If you are fortunate enough to not live in an evacuation zone or simply cannot leave for whatever reason, you are strongly encouraged not to venture outdoors. It is crucial to remember that high winds can and will blow potentially deadly objects around. In certain instances, gusts might be powerful enough to lift you off the ground and deposit you miles away from your home.

After The Storm Clears

A storm’s passage does not immediately mean your surrounding environment is once again safe. In fact, an appreciable number of storm casualties involve individuals who either engaged in reckless actions or failed to stay hunkered down until authorities deemed it safe enough for citizens to emerge. Therefore, when the storm first ebbs, you are urged to:

Steer Clear Of Floodwater

Tropical events drop measurable sums of rain. Large water concentrations are bound to result in flooding. You are implored to refrain from attempting to drive through or peruse anywhere near such fluid accumulations.

Vehicles can sustain severe damage and even be swept away if the waters are deep and forceful enough. Moreover, floodwater is often rife with numerous illness-inducing pathogens and other contaminants.

Use Flashlights Whenever Possible

Tropical storm or hurricane force winds will likely knock power lines down causing outages. Safety experts recommend lighting your surroundings utilizing flashlights in lieu of candles whenever possible. This is because candles increase fire hazard risks.

Be Mindful Of Building Structure

Intense winds and rain could compromise the structural integrity of either your home or other buildings. Therefore, you should not enter any construction that has sustained visible damage. Moreover, if you hear cracking, shifting, or any other unsettling noises inside your home, you are firmly advised to leave and allow engineers to examine the location’s structural soundness or correcting any issues before returning.

Do Not Touch Downed Power Lines

Should you come across a downed power line, do not approach or touch it. Doing so greatly heightens your chances of suffering severe injury or possibly even death from electrocution. The safest and most appropriate course of action is to inform your local electrical services provider.

Be Vigilant About Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

Power outages might necessitate that you use devices like generators and portable stoves. These apparatuses are capable of producing the odorless and invisible but deadly gas known as carbon monoxide. Ergo, you should invest in a battery-operated detector designed to provide adequate warning when you are without electricity.

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