HURRICANES: BEING PREPARED

September 24, 2006

When we entered this year’s hurricane season, we did not need special reminders of hurricanes' destructive power and of the need for preparedness. Nonetheless, we were given a large serving of documentary remembrances of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and of the terrible destruction they unleashed along the Gulf Coast a year ago. As everyone knows, recovery efforts will have to continue for years to come, if places like New Orleans and Biloxi are ever to recover fully.

Among the lessons that have been hammered home are, first, that we as a nation must do a better job of undertaking preventive measures to protect ourselves from the potential devastation of any future natural disaster, be it a hurricane, an earthquake, or any other cataclysmic event.

Second, we have been reminded that Gulf Coast residents have been warned for years that it was only a matter of time before a hurricane of great magnitude, “the big one”, would arrive. Yet, most of us tend to not react until it is too late. The costs of putting off necessary protective actions, and of complacently imagining that “disaster will never befall me”, proved to be very high in Louisiana and Mississippi. Katrina alone caused the deaths of almost 2000 people, the displacement of over 1.7 million people, and over $80 billion in damage.

Third, it has been made painfully clear that the cost of recovery will far exceed in time, money, and labor what the cost of prevention would have been. This is what is so remorseful. So much of Katrina’s and Rita’s destruction and loss of life could have been avoided!

All the news about those hurricanes, however, has not been bad. First, witnessing the plight of desperate people brought out the best in human nature. Countless Americans from across the nation mobilized to attain one goal: do something to help those in need. Catholics in the Valley organized to send truckloads of relief supplies and over $100,000 upstate to be distributed by the church there to evacuees from the impacted areas. Many other grassroots efforts in the Valley, I know, paralleled our own, altogether making for a wonderful display of goodwill and solidarity with those in need. Second, the repeated displays of determination to rebuild show that recovery is indeed possible. Where there’s a will, there’s a way!

What Valley residents need now is the will and determination necessary to plan and prepare for the next hurricane, so that when it strikes we do not suffer any chaos or loss that could have been avoided. Knowing what to do during an emergency is also an important part of being prepared and may make all the difference when seconds count.

Here are a few of the primary considerations that come to mind. Every family should have a communication plan and an emergency supply kit prepared. Every family should also allow for the possibility that it will be without access to potable water, groceries, or gasoline for the car, and without electrical power and telephone service for days, or maybe longer. Families should therefore procure an adequate supply of water and non-perishable food items, and a full the tank of gas, when early warnings of an approaching hurricane are issued.

Every household should also have an evacuation plan in place, should the need become evident, and because ongoing highway construction will retard the pace of traffic, the earlier evacuation takes place the better. It is most important to listen to public information officers, usually the local fire chief or police chief, and to take seriously and cooperate with their directives in times of an emergency.

Parents need to take special precautions with regard to their children. They need to instruct their children what to do and where to meet if they become separated in an intense storm. Identification should be attached to the children in a way that will make sure they do not lose it.

It is good to know where the nearest Red Cross shelter will be, and to remember that Red Cross does not open shelters until a storm passes. (None of the Catholic parishes or parish halls are authorized shelters.) Most shelters do not accept pets, so pet owners need to make arrangements prior to evacuation proceedings to shelter your pet(s).

In the workplace, employees and employers should have vital contact information to know when not to report to work, or when to return to work after a storm. Property owners should make safety inspections of their property in order to secure any items which could become deadly flying projectiles in hurricane-force winds, and to remove tree branches that may cause damage by falling on buildings or power lines. It is always good to have pictures of property before and after a storm to help process insurance claims.

For the benefit of those with access to the Internet, our Diocesan website has much more information available on hurricane preparedness and response, including a checklist of things to put into an emergency supply kit, at www.cdob.org.

We can be thankful to God that nature has not unleashed her destructive fury on the Valley in recent times, and pray that we continue to be spared. At the same time, we must be prepared and remain vigilant, for it is only a matter of time before a mighty hurricane comes our way.


+Bishop Raymundo J. Peña

last updated 05-Jun-2008 9:48 sitemap