I’ve been through two hurricanes in my lifetime. The most recent was Hurricane Iniki, which was a category 4 storm that devastated our island of Kauai, Hawaii in 1992. Every year when hurricane season starts in June with the arrival of El Nino or La Nina seasons, we are reminded by media, utility companies, and government entities to prepare hurricane survival kits and become familiar with procedures in the case that this type of natural disaster occurs. What my family has learned through our hurricane experiences is that in addition to those things, creating a Family Hurricane Plan is a critical component to preparedness.
A Family Hurricane Plan allows for family members to consider and discuss where they will be and what they will need to do in this type of situation. It also puts a system in place for how you will contact each other after the storm. One of the most stressful parts of the aftermath of a hurricane is not being able to contact loved ones to either check to see if they’re okay or to let them know how you are doing. The Family Hurricane Plan is poised to make things in this type of difficult event as orderly as possible.