Guest Author - Rosemary Rugnetta

The beginning of June will kick off the 2008 hurricane season and since I live in Florida, I felt it would be appropriate to touch upon this subject. These are some tips that I learned just from experience.

Back in 2004 when the record number of hurricanes came through the region, many people were unprepared. There were endless lines at the stores. The gas stations ran out of gas. The grocery stores got low on supplies. It was not a fun time at all. We were lucky because we thought of things ahead of time, watched the weather constantly, and didn't wait until the last minute to prepared.

Hurricane preparedness is similar to any other type of emergency preparedness. As a matter of fact, if you are always prepared for an emergency, then getting ready for a hurricane does not required too much additional work. One of the most important things I have found is to keep certain items always ready.

-Keep an inventory of your possessions, photos and video for insurance purposes.
-Keep all of your important papers, photos and videos in one location in the house so that you can just grab them and go.
-Always keep your homeowner's insurance up to date.
-Keep first aids kits, flashlights, batteries on hand
-Keep medication, prescription and non-prescription, together in one area.
-Look at a premade emergency list and personalize it for yourself and your family.

If you do these things, then if a hurricane approaching, you will have time to put up shutters, retrieve everything from the exterior of your home, pick up food supplies, pack clothes in case of evacation.

Do not wait until the last minute to get cash, gas, bottled water and batteries.
Pick these up a few days in advance before the lines at the stores start or they actually run out.

There are some very good websites that provide detailed lists for hurricane preparedness. I encourage anyone who is faced with a potential hurricane or any other natural disaster to visit these sites for more detailed information. Below are just a few that are out there:

http://www.floridaoceanographic.org/hurricane2.html
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/HAW2/english/downloads.shtml
http://www.fema.gov/pdf/library/epc.pdf