SW Florida Insider- Hurricane Preparedness

Are You Really Ready for this Hurricane Season?

Two (of the many) things that are certain in SW Florida every year are lots of sunshine and the very real possibility of tropical storms and hurricanes impacting our area.
When Fay became tropical last week, I pulled out my hurricane list of "things to do" to make sure I was ready. This list is very detailed and is the best one I have seen- that is why I keep and use it. It is from USA Today, November, 2005, and is part of an article created as a result of Hurricane Katrina and the devastation it created ("Are You Prepared in Case of Disaster?" by Elizabeth Weise, page 9D.)
The article is divided into nine sections, with a list in each one:

--First Aid (do you have the 17 essential items?)
--Pets (do you have a pet carrier...food...litter...ID and vaccination records?)
--Home Emergency Kit (32 items in this list, plus airtight plastic bags for everything)
--Food (ideas to sustain your body and comfort your soul as you battle the storm)
--Water (did you know that water has a shelf life of six months? It is because the plastic water jug it is in may develop tiny cracks that allow bacteria into the water)
--Shelf Life of Food (vital info- you don't want to eat something that will make you sick- especially when you have no electricity and possibly no access to a doctor)
--Important Documents (another 17 item list, with a note to keep the originals in an off site safe deposit box)
--Maintaining Contact (great ideas on maintaining contact with family members, both in the storm and outside of it. Remember to put "ICE" in your phone)
--Evacuation Bag (16 items- all needed to be inside a bag with ID for each family member).

This may look overwhelming, but wouldn't it be better to start out overwhelmed and end up absolutely prepared, than to just "wing it" and possibly suffer the consequences?

If you need more information, please feel free to contact me at sandy@leecollierrealestate.com.
I will be busy... checking my list just one more time.