Hurricane Preparedness Week: Create a Family/Business Emergency Plan

5/11/2021 (Permalink)

Create an emergency plan for your home & business to prepare for hurricane season.

At SERVPRO Gainesville West/Alachua West, we have years of experience in storm and water damage restoration and have seen our share of hurricanes. Even though our area is not near the coast, Alachua County and surrounding areas still sometimes experience heavy rain, winds, and damage from falling trees during our summer hurricane and rainy season. With many newcomers moving into Florida all the time and hurricane season starting soon, this week we are focusing on Hurricane Prep Week so you can get your home and business ready.

Hurricane season runs from June 1st to November 30th, with storm season typically being most active in Gainesville during late summer. Preparation is key to keeping your residential home and commercial property safe, as well as protecting your family members. 

For day 1 of Hurricane Prep Week, we recommend creating your family emergency plan. Now is the time to gather hard copies of important phone numbers all in one place and share this with your family members. If you’re an employer, make sure employee phone numbers on file are up to date and have a system in place to notify them of important changes if a storm is anticipated. Remember that in a severe storm, cell phone service may not work and if power is lost, you will need to conserve mobile phone battery life.

You can go to the FEMA website to print out a family emergency communication plan. Along with phone numbers of relatives, in case of an emergency, it will be helpful to have important numbers and policy numbers for contacts such as your utility companies, homeowners insurance, schools, and medical providers. Provide each family member with a copy. You should also identify a safe place to gather during a major storm. A small interior room without windows is often best, such as a closet or bathroom. 

We will be posting helpful tips to prepare for Florida’s hurricane season all week, so check back on our blog and social media accounts Facebook, twitter and Instagram for more tips. Preparation is key, but sometimes disaster still strikes. Our crews at SERVPRO are trained and ready to help with any flooding or storm damage!