Storm
Survival
Center

What to do the moment the storm hits

    It's here. The moment of truth. The winds are blowing, the streets are deserted. The hurricane is making landfall. If you waited until now to prepare, it's too late. You can't do much now except hunker down and wait.

    Stay indoors. Stay sober. Bring in your food, water, first-aid supplies, mattress, and portable radio or television. Get everyone into your safe room before the storm hits. Use flashlights, not candles. Cover yourself with the mattress in case debris starts flying. Turn off your electricity if flooding begins.

    "What do you do? You just sit there and sweat it out,'' said Broward Emergency Management Director Arthur St. Amand. If you live in a flood evacuation zone and did not leave when officials told you to, you still have a chance to save your life.

    Officials don't advertise this option because they want people to leave evacuation zones, but they do have a recommendation for stragglers. It's called last resort refuge and it's just that - a last resort. Don't plan in advance on doing this.

    As that last resort, go to a building with several stories. If you pick a high-rise, avoid the upper floors, where winds are strongest. Avoid the ground floor where flooding will likely occur. Find a parking garage or interior room within the building with no windows. The second or third floor is best. Protect yourself as best you can. Take cover under a mattress if you can.

    If the winds suddenly die down and everything goes calm, don't go outside immediately; the storm's eye may be passing. The most vicious part of the storm follows the passing of the eye.

    Don't go outside until government officials give the "all clear" signal through the media.

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Last Revised: October 27, 2006 11:43 AM.

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