First there were Zombies; then came Hurricanes!

May 26, 2011 by Ali S. Khan

Posted by: Craig Fugate, FEMA Administrator and Ali S. Khan, Assistant Surgeon General and Director, Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response, CDC

With June 1st only days away, FEMA, CDC and the rest of the team are busy preparing for the upcoming hurricane season. And now that you’ve taken the necessary precautions to prepare for a zombie apocalypse, you can start preparing for hurricane season, too. In recognition of Hurricane Preparedness Week, we want to remind you of some simple steps you can take. The same steps that we described in our zombie post (get a kit, make a plan, be informed) are key to getting prepared for a hurricane as well.

Get a Kit and Stock Up

After a hurricane strikes, you may not have the convenience of your local supermarket or other supply stores that you visit on a regular basis. Therefore, it’s critical that you have the supplies you need to survive for at least 72 hours, like non-perishable food, water, prescription medications, batteries, baby supplies, phone chargers and inverters, and a first-aid kit. While you are gathering supplies, make sure that you also place an emergency kit in your car. Learn more about supplies you’ll need CDC.gov or Ready.gov.

Make a Plan With Your Family

It’s important to identify ahead of time where you and your family will go if you have to evacuate. If local officials order a mandatory evacuation in your area, you should follow this request and make plans for you and your family to leave. Sit down with your family now and decide whether you will evacuate to an out-of-town friend or relatives’ house, or if you will stay at a hotel in a safe place.

And when making your evacuation plan, don’t forget about your precious pets! You should make alternate housing arrangements for your pets in advance, since pet-friendly shelters may not be available during the emergency period. Identifying pet boarding facilities that are located along your evacuation route and outside of the danger zone are important steps to ensuring your pets will have a safe place to go. When evacuation orders are issued, you should call the boarder to ensure that they have availability. Here’s a useful checklist for your pets on Ready.gov, FEMA’s website for emergency preparedness.

Now that you have a plan for your family (including four-legged members), consider the following precautions before you evacuate:

Fill your car’s gas tank. If no vehicle is available, make arrangements with friends or family for transportation.
Prepare an emergency kit for your car with food, water, flares, booster cables, maps, tools, a first aid kit, fire extinguisher, sleeping bags, etc.
Secure any items outside which may damage property in a storm, such as bicycles, grills, propane tanks, etc.
Cover windows and doors with plywood or boards or place large strips of masking tape or adhesive tape on the windows to reduce the risk of breakage and flying glass.
Adjust the thermostat on refrigerators and freezers to the coolest possible temperature.
Be sure to take your phone charger with you.

Tune In and Stay Informed

While the path of a hurricane is forecasted before it hits land, the situation can often change from one minute to the next. It’s important to be informed with a NOAA weather radio and educate yourself on hurricane-related terms that will be used throughout the season, such as:

Tropical storm watch – tropical storm conditions (sustained winds of 39 to 73 mph) are possible within the specified coastal area within 48 hours.
Tropical storm warning – tropical storm conditions (sustained winds of 39 to 73 mph) are expected somewhere within the specified coastal area within 36 hours.
Hurricane watch – hurricane conditions (sustained winds of 74 mph or higher) are possible within the specified coastal area. This is issued 48 hours in advance of the anticipated onset of tropical-storm-force winds.
Hurricane warning – hurricane conditions (sustained winds of 74 mph or higher) are expected somewhere within the specified coastal area. This is issued 36 hours in advance of the anticipated onset of tropical-storm-force winds.

The National Hurricane Center provides a glossary on its Web site, so take some time and familiarize yourself with their Glossary of National Hurricane Center Terms.

While Hurricane Preparedness is a top priority and responsibility for FEMA and CDC, as well as other emergency management and public health agencies, it’s also each individual’s responsibility to ensure that they take the necessary steps to be prepared. You can learn more about Hurricane Preparedness at emergency.cdc.gov/disasters/hurricanes/ and www.Ready.gov/hurricanes.

Start a Conversation

Do you live in a hurricane prone area? Have you started preparing? Tell us what you are doing by submitting a blog comment, post to our Facebook page or Tweet to @CDCemergency using hashtag #hurricane.

To download a badge for your blog/website/email signature, get a widget, syndicate content, or other social media, visit: http://emergency.cdc.gov/socialmedia/hurricanes.asp

May 26, 2011 by Ali S. Khan

natural disasters, Zombies

54 comments on “First there were Zombies; then came Hurricanes!”

Comments listed below are posted by individuals not associated with CDC, unless otherwise stated. These comments do not represent the official views of CDC, and CDC does not guarantee that any information posted by individuals on this site is correct, and disclaims any liability for any loss or damage resulting from reliance on any such information. Read more about our comment policy ».

preparedness info is excellent. Zombie tag line is lame & a turnoff. too bad we the taxpayers paid big bucks for junk

hello thank you for this site. Are speakers for available for inservice home care staff on assisting patients to prepare?

Thank you for reading and for your comment. We would like to let you know that this blog post used no additional resources. We used existing resources, staff, and platforms (e.g., blog site, Facebook, Twitter) to post and promote our message and spent $0 during the campaign.

Stay tuned!

I thought the zombie stuff was all in good fun. It served its purpose – to increase awareness of the CDC website.

We had a nursing home in one of the areas that was a direct hit for the recent tornadoes in the South. Thank goodness we had an adequate disaster preparedness plan. We lost power for several days. We got a large generator in and 500 gal fuel cells – 1 diesel for the generator, 1 gasoline for the staff to getback and forth to work because the gas stations had no power either. It was eye-opening. nursing home management

I personally thought the Zombie Apocalypse hook was a stroke of genius. Glad to see people willing to think outside the box and get folks to the website for the good information. Keep up the good work!

In regard to PAAM’s comment. . . . Are you kidding? The Zombie Apocalypse was a brilliant idea. Two simple questions – How many under 30’s ever went to the CDC website to see advisory notices? (answer – almost 0) How many looked up and read the Zombie Apocalypse? (answer – it went viral) Brilliant way to get the preparedness message out. Great job CDC!

Thanks for using your creativity with the Zombie post. I’ve heard people talking about it and thought it was a fun way to get out some important info.

Great job making public health and emergency preparedness approachable and fun.

This is very valuable information for the American public. Thanks to the assistance of the Surgeon General and the CDC, more men and women are able to make plans and be more prepared in case of a hurricane. I am a nursing student and we recently had a seminar on Disaster Management and many of these same strategies were discussed. It is especially pertinent to make sure that you have a half tank of gas in your vehicle at all times in case you are required to evacuate the area immediately. Also, there are many opportunities for nurses, health care professionals, and other volunteers to devote time and experience lending a hand to these areas after a disaster occur. People need to be educated about the necessary measures to take in time of crisis and this is why the CDC guidelines are of utmost importance.

I loved it! Not that anyone will prepare til there is already a Zombie in the Gulf but… Great way to make folks aware. LOL

it’s a joke right?

greetings from Argentina

hey great blog feel free to grab future content via our great rss feed

This is really a nice post , one should prepare for any kind of emergency, this is such a nice post.

This year the national weather service is predicting 3 to 6 major hurricanes. If you live on the coastline, you should always prepare each season. In a recent disaster seminar for nursing students we learned you can never be too prepared. Good tips are: always have your gas tank at least 1/2 full, keep an extra 5 gallons of gas in the garage if possible, and most importantly: design an emergency plan with your family. Specific tips for when there is risk of flood:
1. Clear drains, gutters and downspouts of debris and make sure your yard’s grading (slope) directs water away from the building.
2. Anchor fuel tanks. An unanchored tank can be torn free by floodwaters, and the broken supply line can cause contamination, or if outdoors, can be swept downstream and damage other homes.
3. Buy and install sump pumps with backup power where needed. Regularly check to make sure they are working.
4. Cut off electrical service at the main breaker if the electrical system and outlets will be underwater.
from weather.com

I am a nursing student and I recently attended a lecture/seminar on disaster management. This information is helpful for people who live in areas where hurricanes are likely and may not know how to prepare. Having a plan in place for your family and having supplies available to you if the disaster does come is extremely important to ensure the safety of you and your family. Knowing where nearby shelters are is important for people who may not be able to leave the area. Always remembering to keep at least a half tank of gas is another important tip and knowing where the evacuation route is ahead of time in case the storm comes faster than anticipated. If you are working in a place like a hospital and cannot leave, it is important to go over this plan with your family and make sure that arrangements are made ahead of time. Each year, the plan should be revised and the supplies should be checked and possibly restocked.

I think it is good post, providing awareness to common people. Good job.

Let’s see the good point of this. The information provided here can be very useful to prepare the worst situation.

regards,
berita

All three steps are very useful! I come from Guangdong Maoming, which is a fashion city! It is littoral and it often has Typhoons same as hurricane during summer. In that weather, these information is very helpful! Thank you!

This information is helpful for people who live in areas where hurricanes are likely and may not know how to prepare. Having a plan in place for your family and having supplies available to you if the disaster does come is extremely important to ensure the safety of you and your family. Knowing where nearby shelters are is important for people who may not be able to leave the area. Always remembering to keep at least a half tank of gas is another important tip and knowing where the evacuation route is ahead of time in case the storm comes faster than anticipated.
Jesus Castillo Como Subir la Masa Muscular

This was a great read. Very simple and neat idea to create awareness of hurricanes with an attractive title and side report.

Hey thanks for these wonderful tips. Where I live we constantly get tornado sirens during this time of the year. Just a few months ago, a tornado tore through one of the major towns and created a huge mess of things. I’ll be sure to put these tips to good use.

Jenny

Great website. Knowing where nearby shelters are is important for people who may not be able to leave the area. Always remembering to keep at least a half tank of gas is another important tip and knowing where the evacuation route is ahead of time in case the storm comes faster than anticipated. Good Work.
Jesus Castillo Subir Volumen Muscular

I even don’t want to thing how many people still believe in zombies 🙂 Especially in US. It is even not funny.

great stuff you guys…

Great information here on ways to prepare for unexpected disasters. Nice attention grabbing title. I think no matter how much we prepare withh all the necessary equipments and foods, we also need to be fit for us to be able to move quickly when disasters stike. Doing regular exercise will have huge benefits.

wow good site i got a good information

This is an excellent article thank you. I keep putting off completing a disaster package and strategy. This will motivate me and you have some great tips. One tip I didn’t see was to keep a pair of shoes near the bed, in case of a disaster at night. That way you don’t have to worry about walking on broken glass.

Thank you for sharing this article.It is great! There are some information which will help me very much. As you gain expertise, Very helpful post! It is extremely helpful for me. It is good idea.

whoah this blog is great i like reading your articles. Keep up the great paintings! You know, a lot of individuals are looking around for this info, you can aid them greatly.

Awesome. great to read it. i am in planning to my eLearning seminar and i get may help from this article.

Can tht really happen

good article

if u do have a zombie desease that would be awesome if u plz released it i would love to use my zombie plan

well i would like zombies this year and i know a lot of people that want zombies and zombies r real there is just a few times they have been created in history though

It had been nice to study through your post. I really appreciated the few minutes that I spent reading through it and want to leave a comment to mention that….Best wishes

I found some wonderful info in your site and bookmarked to visit again . Thanks.

I know what your doing, and I want you to evacuate where you know it’s going down before you screw up…big time. And can’t handle it just, it’s messed up to play it like that, bath salts and ur little play about it being in southeast oh wheres it going down then, walking dead etc. come get me and my girl outta Atlanta then, oh wait your based here? Are we just part of the quarantine tho right? And it won’t matter if infected or not. U can’t leave.

Always ensure your first aid is up to scratch and you have adequate supplies on hand to deal with emergencies and dangerous situations!

And then…. no tsunami… no storm… but no rain… this is what happening in Eastern Canada…. Rivers are so low that outfitters had to refund clients… Salmons stay in the sea and die before reproduction.

Erik
http://www.rapidwaterscamp.ca

I think beecause of the destructive power of a hurricane, we should never ignore an evacuation order. Surely, the authorities will tell you to leave the site if you are in a low or within the greatest potential path of the storm area. If a hurricane warning is issued for your area or if the authorities tell you to evacuate the area: carry only essential items, leave pets indoors in a safe and sheltered place, with plenty of food and water, If you have time, turn off the gas, electricity and water, disconnect appliances to reduce the possibility of electrical shock when power is restored, make sure you have ready emergency kit for your car, and others. From Peru : Moises Flores OA4COX or at OA4COX.blogspot.com

nice post thanks

Are speakers for available for inservice home care staff on assisting patients to prepare?

http://www.premekids.com

Very nice post, impressive. its quite different from other posts. Thanks for sharing.

nice info.

Afraid of seeing zombies name. Yeah! hurricane is the worst incident happened in my life. Seen the destructive power of hurricane last year and lost 2 of my pets. Such a weird incident. Thanks for sharing this nice informative article. Why can’t we build hurricane tampered houses? Is it possible

Wow, hurricane season! never heard that before. I leave somewhere in South East Asia and we don’t have that. Hope the people there stay save!

nice info

Thanks for sharing information tips here. I am always searching tips over the internet.
I really appreciated your work. keep on posting.

Thank a lot for reading and the comment. I’ve heard people talking about it and thought it was a fun way to get out some important information.

This is my first time i visit here. I found so many entertaining stuff in your blog, especially its discussion. From the tons of comments on your articles, I guess I am not the only one having all the leisure here! Keep up the good work. I have been meaning to write something like this on my website and you have given me an idea.

nice share