Here are some tips to help you and your family stay safe during hurricane season this year.
Prepare for Hurricane Season
Give yourself more time than usual to prepare your emergency food, water, and medical supplies. Home delivery is the safest choice for buying disaster supplies. However, that may not be an option for everyone. If in-person shopping is your only choice, take steps to protect your and others’ health when running essential errands. Protect yourself and others when filling prescriptions by limiting in-person visits to the pharmacy. Sign up for mail-order delivery or call in your prescription ahead of time and use drive-through windows or curbside pickup, if available. Pay attention to local guidance about updated plans for evacuations and shelters, including shelters for your pets.
Prepare to Evacuate
If you may need to evacuate, prepare a “go kit” with personal items you cannot do without during an emergency. Include items that can help protect you and others from COVID-19, such as hand sanitizer containing at least 60% alcohol, bar or liquid soap, disinfectant wipes (if available), and two masks for each person. Masks should not be used by children under the age of 2. They also should not be used by people having trouble breathing, or who are unconscious, incapacitated, or unable to remove the mask without assistance. Know a safe place to shelter and have several ways to receive weather alerts, such as National Weather Service cell phone alerts, NOAA Weather Radio, or National Weather Service Twitter alerts. Find out if your local public shelter is open, in case you need to evacuate your home and go there. Your shelter location may be different this year due to the pandemic. If you need to go to a disaster shelter, follow CDC recommendations for staying safe and healthy in a public disaster shelter during the pandemic. Follow guidance from your local public health or emergency management officials on when and where to shelter. Make a plan and prepare a disaster kit for your pets. Find out if your disaster shelter will accept pets. Typically, when shelters accommodate pets, the pets are housed in a separate area from people staying there. Follow safety precautions when using transportation to evacuate. If you have to travel away from your community to evacuate, follow safety precautions for travelers to protect yourself and others from COVID-19.
Staying with Friends or Family
If you’ll be staying with friends or family outside your household to evacuate from the storm:
Consider if either of your households has someone who is at higher risk of developing a severe illness, including older adults or people of any age who have underlying medical conditions. Make sure everyone knows what they can do to keep themselves safe from COVID-19. Follow everyday preventive actions, including covering coughs and sneezes, washing your hands often, and avoiding touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands. Consider taking extra precautions for people living in close quarters. You should know what to do if someone in your family or in the household you are staying in becomes sick. Also, remember to take steps to keep your pets safe.
