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Advice for Healthy Living

May 29th, 2020

Prepare now for a hurricane

Hurricane season is here. It’s important to prepare early. The National Weather Service is predicting an above average hurricane season.

Here are a few things you can do right now to prepare for a hurricane, natural disaster or other emergency:

  • Prepare an emergency kit. Include enough nonperishable food and water to last 3 to 5 days for each person. Include prescription medications, pet food, a can opener, a radio, and extra batteries.
  • Have a first aid kit on hand.
  • Pack personal care products like deodorant, hand sanitizer, moist towelettes and toothpaste. Include extra clothes, a pillow and sleeping bags.
  • Pack items to protect you and others from COVID-19, like hand soap and two face coverings for each person. Face coverings should not be used for people under the age of two, people with breathing issues or those who are unable to remove the mask without assistance.
  • Make sure your supplies are stored together and easy to reach.
  • Keep important documents in a safe, waterproof place and create password-protected digital copies.
  • Make a list of important phone numbers, like your primary care doctor and specialists that you see. Keep it with you.
  • Make copies of your government-issued identification.
  • Be sure to follow CDC social distancing recommendations (staying at least 6 feet, about 2 arms’ length, from others) when checking on friends, family and neighbors.
  • If your local government offers text or e-mail alerts, sign up for your community’s warning system.
  • Have a designated safe place and practice getting to it. Become familiar with your evacuation zone. Plan the route you need to take when ordered to evacuate.
  • If you need to go to a disaster shelter, follow CDC recommendations for staying safe and healthy in a public disaster shelter during the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • Plan how to communicate with family members if you lose power. For example, you can call, text, email or use social media. Text messages are more reliable and faster than phone calls during a disaster.

 

Learn how to best prepare before, during and after a hurricane by viewing our hurricane preparedness guide.

 

Take action today to stay safe in the event of a hurricane. For more information, go to https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/features/hurricanepreparedness/index.html.

Photo credit: NOAA