With hurricane season upon us once again, many people are thinking about how to prepare themselves for the worst. Just as important is making arrangements for a neighborhood plan. There are a lot of ways you can help others in your community to insure everyone is prepared. Here are a few ideas to get you started.
- Talk it over. Plan a meeting now, before a storm is coming, to get together with your neighbors and assess neighborhood needs. Perhaps the elderly lady living alone needs help with her shutters, or a handicap neighbor needs assistance getting to a shelter. Often, people will have these great fears that they won’t be able to cope in a storm, and knowing that others on their block will be willing to offer help can alleviate them. Also, use this meeting as an opportunity to go over preparedness tips. Talk about where the closest hurricane shelter is, obtaining supplies, special needs shelter registration, securing your home and keeping property insurance records up-to-date in case of loss.
- Form a task force. A cohesive community can make it easier on everyone by forming groups to watch over certain tasks. Perhaps one group can put hurricane shutters on homes in need of assistance, while another can make lunch and provide drinks for those doing the heavy labor. One group can be in charge of transporting neighbors without transportation to shelters, or watching children while the adults safeguard the neighborhood. In this way, everyone is helping to the best of their abilities.
- Stay in touch. Appoint a contact to call in case of a vacation or trip. Make sure the point person has a way to contact you if a storm arises. Make a list of your evacuation locations, so everyone can be reached if the need arises. Create a phone roster that can be used when a storm is coming, so no one is caught off-guard.
- After the storm. Combine your resources (power tools, cellular phones, etc.) in case there is severe damage. Find out who knows CPR and First Aid, as there may be injuries either in the storm or in the clean-up effort. Make sure everyone is accounted for and has essential supplies. Be there for each other for support, both physical labor and emotional needs.
Hopefully, we will not see another Andrew in our lifetime, but we need to learn from the lessons he taught us and not be caught off-guard again.
