With the month of June comes sunny skies, fireflies, barbeques and yes, hurricane season. With the first named hurricane of the season, the time to prepare is now! We live on the Gulf Coast of Florida, with some of the most beautiful beaches in the world. While beachfront and outdoor living are must haves in the sunshine state, so to is being ready for when Mother Nature sends a curve ball our way.

Florida, Alabama, Texas, Georgia, The Carolina’s, are among those on the east coast who need to have a plan if something named comes your way. Along the Gulf Coast we often see powerful thunderstorms roll through. While these can be scary they are not the same as a serious hurricane.

Ivan, Sally, Katrina, Opal, Dennis, Andrew, Micheal…. Chances are if you’ve seen any of these or many others I cant remember the name of the devastating effects are felt by communities big and small. With that in mind I remember talking to people especially after Micheal hit my hometown. Some of these need to knows have been somehow lost in teanslation.

So without further ado here is an emergency preparedness list for hurricanes. Most items can be used for lots of other emergencies as well. Fire, flood, tornado, tropical weather, and more. What ever threatens your home and family, basic preparation saves lives.

One of the worst things I’ve both seen and heard is; Why it takes so long to get help? Being raised in Florida especially before the technological advances, we were taught that if disaster strikes, you have to be prepared to live on your own for at least 3 days. That means no power, enough food, water, medication, essentials, to survive by yourself for 3 days.

Keep this in mind when preparing your readiness supplies. Account for all family members and pets. Our pets are a part of our family that means they go where we go. That will be vitally important if evacuating.

Help will come from outside sources but trust me when I tell you experiences have taught they mean it when they say 3 -5 days on your own. Depending on the size, severity, and extent of damages, this is only the minimum. First priority will have resources staged. They cannot do so to close to proposed landfall or it becomes a victim of the storm as well.

Then there is the unpredictably of exactly where landfall will be. As storms prepare to make actual landfall they can wobble as much as 100 miles. So while things have come a long way in meteorology, mother nature can still surprise us. Please know what to expect and get your news from a reliable source.

Every year for just about every storm in the last 10 years I would love to kick some reporters and weather people. Some report from live places where there will be impact and have no clue where they are or in what direction other place are. I’ll never forget watching from a hotel in Georgia while the news media reporting didnt know what was west or east. It is supremely annoying if you are watching from afar trying to determine if and how bad your home might have sustained damage! This was not a small or local station either.

So get a plan, prepare now and stay safe!