Growing up in NY, my personal experience was limited to Hurricane Gloria, but that alone was devastating enough. Then throughout the years I heard of Hurricane Andrew, Katrina, and most recently Sandy, which hit my family in NY pretty hard. And now that I am living in Florida, I have heard my share of hurricane horror stories. With the recent hit of Hurricane Arthur, I felt compelled to share the resources to prepare for hurricane.

On my coast (Atlantic), the season runs from June 1 to November 30 and on the other coast (Eastern Pacific) their season began on May 15 and will end on November 30. Hurricanes can affect both coastal and inland areas, causing widespread devastation. In a recent survey, nearly 60 percent of respondents said that they do not have a household emergency plan with instructions for household members about where to go and what to do in the event of a disaster. Well, Ready.gov offers tons of tips and resources, and it even has a “How to Prepare for a Hurricane” Guide with some very detailed information to get you prepped.

One step to getting prepared is to Build a Kit. Building a kit in advance of a hurricane can help you respond to an emergency in a moment’s notice. Hurricanes can lead to outages of electricity, gas, water, sewage treatment and telephones for several days, and sometimes even weeks. You should have at least a 72 hour supply of food, water and other supplies to help sustain you while you wait for emergency services.

A basic emergency supply kit could include the following recommended items:

• Water, one gallon of water per person per day for at least three days, for drinking and sanitation
• Food, at least a three-day supply of non-perishable food
• Battery-powered or hand crank radio and a NOAA Weather Radio with tone alert and extra batteries for both
• Flashlight and extra batteries
• First aid kit
• Whistle to signal for help
• Dust mask to help filter contaminated air and plastic sheeting and duct tape to shelter-in-place
• Moist towelettes, garbage bags and plastic ties for personal sanitation
• Wrench or pliers to turn off utilities
• Manual can opener for food
• Local maps
• Cell phone with chargers, inverter or solar charger

Another step is to develop a Family Communications Plan. Your family may not be together when disaster strikes, so plan how you will contact one another. Think about how you will communicate in different situations.

Something else you can do to prepare, is subscribe to Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA). They are automatic texts sent to you in an emergency. Alerts received at the right time can help keep you safe during an emergency. With WEA, warnings can be sent to your mobile device when you may be in harm’s way, without the need to download an app or subscribe to a service.

Remember to visit Ready.gov for more tips and info!

Disclosure: This post is part of a Bloggin’ Mamas Social Good campaign. Per the Ad Council’s model, all PSAs run in advertising time and space donated by the media. All opinions are my own.