How to Prepare for a Hurricane

Worried about hurricanes but unsure how to take action?

Watch a 3-minute video with Tim Magee to see how

In this video, Tim gives a step-by-step summary on how to prepare for a hurricane.

You will learn the major steps in preparing for a hurricane both before hurricane season begins and then what steps to take if there’s an impending hurricane about to arrive.

Mr. Magee is CSDi’s Executive Director and the author of A Field Guide to Community Based Adaptation, Routledge, Oxford, England.

How to Prepare for a Hurricane

Today we’re going to talk about emergency preparedness—and specifically hurricane preparedness.

Assess Risk

One of the first things you need to do is to assess risk. Are you in a potential hurricane path? If so, are you in a particularly vulnerable location, like at the seashore? Do you live in a hurricane-resistant home—or do you live in a hurricane-vulnerable mobile home? Clearly understanding your level of risk will help with making decisions in preparing for a hurricane.

Emergency Action Plan

You need an emergency action plan for your family that covers several different facets of hurricane preparedness. There are templates available online that will simplify the process for you.

Evacuation Plan

As part of your emergency action plan, you want to make sure that you have an evacuation plan: two or three clear routes for an evacuation in case one of them becomes blocked with fallen trees. And you need to know where to evacuate to; your town will announce where a hurricane shelter is.

Family Crisis Communication Plan

You also need a family crisis communication plan. You want to make sure that you and your family all know where to meet up in case you need to evacuate, and also how to stay in contact in case you get separated.

Emergency Supply Kit

Put together an emergency supply kit. Make sure you have emergency rations. A gallon of drinking water per day for each person for three days and three days of non perishable food that you can store. Then the next step is to gather all of your important documents together in a portable file box in an easily accessible location so you can just grab it if you need to evacuate.

Write Your Hurricane Preparedness Plan

If this seems overwhelming, you can sign up for our interactive workshop “How to Write a Climate Action Plan” and develop your hurricane preparedness plan as your workshop project.

Hurricane-Resistant Home

In the months before hurricane season, strengthen your home. Have hurricane shutters installed that can be closed to protect your windows from flying debris. Or you can have sheets of plywood cut to fit your windows—ready and waiting.

Hardware stores have special metal straps that will securely connect your roof structure to the walls of your house so that it won’t blow off. You might need a carpenter to install them. Be sure to trim trees and bushes that might have branches that could snap off in the wind and damage your home.

Emergency Alerts

Make sure that you have signed up for emergency alerts from local authorities and that you know what radio station will broadcast additional information in case of an emergency. Buy a battery-operated radio in case the electricity goes out.

Before an Impending Hurricane:

Gather up things that are in your yard—like lawn chairs and barbecues—and put them away so they don’t become airborne projectiles. It is also a good idea to fill your bathtub and sinks up with water.

Stay Informed

Last-minute information from emergency alerts or from a radio station will help you not only know specifically when you should evacuate but also which direction you should go in.

Community Emergency Response Team

I can’t stress enough how important it is to engage with both your town’s authorities in charge of disaster preparation, and also your immediate neighbors—well in advance of hurricane season—so that you will be safe and so that you can all cooperate and support each other in case of an emergency. You can expand on this by taking a Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training program.

Good luck in planning your hurricane preparedness, and thank you.