By Sascha Cordner
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wfsu/local-wfsu-971496.mp3
Tallahassee, FL – The 2011 Atlantic Hurricane Season starts Wednesday, and residents should already be starting to do what they can to prepare. As Sascha Cordner reports, those are the words Governor Rick Scott as well as several Hurricane experts used to convey this year's much anticipated Hurricane Season.
Governor Rick Scott says being prepared is one of the most important things Florida residents can do, especially as the Hurricane season begins, and forecasters predict as many as 18-named storms. His message is clear: be prepared.
"Each of us needs to have a plan, get on Floridadisaster.org. Know your evacuation route, know how to get a hold of your family members, have three days of food and water, know this can happen to you. You know, anytime a disaster happens, none of us think it's going to happen to us. It could happen, hopefully it won't, but we've gotta be prepared."
Florida's Division of Emergency Management Director Bryan Koon says that's true, especially since the state has not experienced a major Hurricane in several years.
"Since we've gone 5 Hurricane Seasons without a landfall or Hurricane, we've got citizens who perhaps have forgotten some of what that experience of 2004, 2005 was like, and we also have new Floridians who perhaps have not dealt with a Hurricane before, and we want to ensure to engage all those citizens, help them understand what the potential consequences of a hurricane making landfall in the state are, and let them know what their role in perhaps preparing for that situation would be."
Hurricane experts, like Florida State University Geography Professor Jay Baker, call what Koon described: "hurricane amnesia," meaning people can forget how bad hurricanes can be after not experiencing them for awhile.
Baker is an expert on how people respond to warning and evacuation orders and how emergency managers use forecasts to implement evacuation plans. He says one of the most important things Florida residents need to figure out is if they are in an area that needs to evacuate.
"The way they determine the evacuation zones all around the state is determining the areas that would flood because of Hurricane storm surge. Now, if you live in a mobile home, they tell you get out of the mobile home into a better built house, but you don't really need to go very far, you just go across the street. But, the idea for most people, if you live in a site built home, it's really important for you to know whether you live in an area that needs to evacuate."
He says that cuts down on the amount of congestion on the streets for the people who really need to evacuate, like the people who are closer to the coast, as opposed to residents who are more inland.
Research shows residents normally hear about what is going on in their area through television, the number one source, radios, and the internet. But, there's another source many people don't think of, but should: the library. FSU's Information Institute director at the College of Communication and Information Charles McClure:
"The library was used to take care of kids while the parents went down to FEMA and tried to fill out forms or go to insurance companies or whatever. FEMA actually set up shop in some of the libraries at a designated relief center. In some counties, they went door to door, looking for survivors. They became part of the emergency management team."
McClure says public libraries are not only a source of information, they also help residents in many other ways including, allowing people to use their facilities for the internet and becoming safe havens for residents to stay. But, it all boils down to advanced preparation! And, Home Depot Operations Store Manager Tim Hutchinson has a few suggestions residents should have available in the event of hurricane:
"Stock up on getting their water, possibly buying a generator if they don't have one, making sure it runs, make sure they have the cords for it, they could get the batteries and flashlights now before, we have a scare and they buy them all [laughs]."
Hutchinson says canned goods, battery powered radio, and a first aid kit are just a few more to add to that shopping list.
So, make sure to have a plan, make sure to know your evacuation routes, get the necessary supplies needed, and don't forget your local library is a source for Hurricane information.
For more information, regarding your own local emergency management website, visitFloridadisaster.org