Hurricane Preparedness in a Pandemic

With an active hurricane season upon us (two in one week, wow!), the safety of your family and your home should be a top priority. And this hurricane season comes with the added stress of prepping for a potential natural disaster in the middle of a pandemic. With that in mind, your planning may be different this year because of the need to protect yourself and others from COVID-19.

• Check out our Hurricane Preparedness Checklist.
• Give yourself more time than usual to prepare your emergency food, water and medicines. Remember to stay safe and mask up when shopping for supplies.
• When you check on friends and neighbors, be sure to follow proper social distancing protocols.
• If you need to evacuate, prepare a kit with personal items you cannot do without during an emergency. Include items that can protect you and others from COVID-19, like hand sanitizer, soap, disinfectant wipes, and two masks per person.
• If you will be staying with anyone outside your household to evacuate from the storm, talk to the people you plan to stay with about how you can all best protect yourselves from COVID-19. Follow preventative actions – including covering coughs and sneezes, washing hands often, and avoid touching eyes, nose and mouth.

As always, follow the guidance from your local public health and emergency management officials.