Terra Ceia Manor Homeowners' Association

THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION RELATES TO HURRICANE PREPAREDNESS

DISASTER PAGE

In case of a disaster in our park please check here for the latest
information.  I will pass on the information as I receive it.

http://hurricane.weathercenter.com/shelter/manatee.htm

Rating Storm Strengths

By The Tampa Tribune

Storm strengths:As a storm approaches, forecasters will issue alerts depending on where the storm is headed and its strength. Here are terms you need to know:

·    Tropical depression: A storm with a counterclockwise wind rotation around an area of low pressure. A depression's highest winds can be 38 mph. This is the first stage of a storm that could grow into a hurricane. They are given numbers by the National Hurricane Center in Miami.

·  Tropical storm: A storm with winds of 39-73 mph. Once a depression becomes a tropical storm, the Hurricane Center gives it a name.

·  Tropical storm watch: Issued by the Hurricane Center, this means an area may be threatened by a tropical storm … winds up to 73 mph … within 36 hours. This could be a broad stretch of coastline.

·  Tropical storm warning: An area is expected to be affected by tropical storm conditions … winds from 39-73 mph … within 24 hours. The area under a warning will be smaller than under a watch.

·  Hurricane: A storm with winds more than 74 mph. They are classified in categories of 1-5 according to wind speeds with 1 a minimal hurricane.

·  Hurricane watch: Issued for an area that may be threatened by hurricane conditions … winds more than 74 mph … within 36 hours.

·  Hurricane warning: Issued for an area expected to be under hurricane conditions within 24 hours.

Measuring hurricanes
You'll frequently hear of hurricanes described in categories, such as a Category 1 storm.

Forecasters use the Saffir-Simpson Scale as a convenient way for emergency officials and the public to tell what kind of damage to expect from a storm … from the wind and storm surge.

Under the Saffir-Simpson Scale, hurricanes are ranked in categories from 1 to 5, with 1 a minimal hurricane and 5 a catastrophic storm. The scale uses wind speed to make the rankings.

Emergency officials use the categories to determine what areas to evacuate according to the storm's strength. Though not as common, Category 3 and stronger storms do far more damage than weaker storms and are considered major storms.

 Here is the Saffir-Simpson Scale:

Note: Only three Category 5 storms have hit the United States since modern record-keeping began: the 1935 Labor Day hurricane that hit the Florida Keys, killing 408 people; Hurricane Camille, which devastated the Mississippi coast in 1969, killing 256 people and causing $1.4 billion in damage and Hurricane Andrew. Andrew was the most destructive United States hurricane of record after it blasted its way across south Florida in 1992, caused 23 deaths and resulted in $26.5 billion in damage.

Measuring tornadoes
Tornadoes are ranked in the Fujita Tornado Scale from F-0 to F-5 according to wind speed. Hurricanes also spin off small tornadoes, often miles from the eye and highest winds. Though they may not reach the power of the higher levels on the Fujita Scale, these tornadoes can cause considerable damage. They are also difficult to forecast, and warning times may be short.

  Here is the Fujita Scale:

Pick A Public Shelter If You Must, But Expect Only Basic Necessities
By NEIL JOHNSON of The Tampa Tribune

Originally Published: June 1, 2004
If you must evacuate, it's better to find refuge with a relative or friend than to go to a public shelter. However, if a public shelter is needed, pick one early and take a trip or two there to be familiar with the route. Test alternative routes. What to bring and what to expect:

·        ·  Have enough clothing to last three days.

·        ·  Bring important papers, telephone numbers, prescriptions and other necessities. Keep this evacuation kit with you or a family member at all times.

·        ·  Pack pillows, sheets and something to sleep on. Inflatable mattresses are light and compact.

·        ·  Have a flashlight and spare batteries for each person, and bring books, quiet games and activities.

·        ·  If you bring a radio, CD or tape player, have earphones. It's courteous.

·        ·  If you have special diet needs, bring those foods.

·        ·  Guns, alcohol or pets are prohibited at public shelters.

·        ·  You will be placed in hallways away from windows. Officials calculate 10 square feet of space per person as a shelter's capacity.

·        ·  You will have food, likely school cafeteria food. If the electricity goes off, it may be cold food.

·        ·  No smoking is allowed in a shelter or on any school property.

·        ·  No one is allowed back into evacuated areas until roads are clear of debris, flooding and downed power lines.

Important Documents Well Worth Protecting
By NEIL JOHNSON of The Tampa Tribune

Originally Published: June 1, 2002

Some of your most valuable and difficult possessions to replace are also among your most fragile.

In the hectic hours before a hurricane hits, people are worried about protecting their lives and property.

But the loss of important papers and documents can make recovering from a disaster more difficult.

You should take a few minutes to find and safeguard things like deeds, titles and birth certificates, documents that will be difficult or expensive to replace.

If you live in an evacuation zone or mobile home, you should have these in a waterproof box that you can quickly grab on the way out. You'll want to keep these with you.

But even if you don't evacuate, it's a good idea to put these things in a home safe or at least a strong, fireproof box.

Experts say the best way to protect these important documents is a safe deposit box at a bank.

Here are some of the items you should consider protecting.

Legal papers: Deeds, titles to vehicles and boats, divorce records and adoption papers, passports, military records, living wills, powers of attorney, child custody papers.

Financial documents: Stock and bond certificates, numbers of brokerage and bank accounts and credit cards, a backup computer disk if you use financial management software and the first two pages of your latest income tax forms.

Personal items: Birth certificates, naturalization papers, marriage licenses, children's immunization records, pet vaccination records, negatives - in protective plastic sleeves - or computer disks of photographs that would be impossible to replace.

Insurance: Originals or copies of your insurance policies, including vehicles or boats, health and life, telephone numbers of your agents, appraisals of valuable items like jewelry, art or antiques, home improvement records, a written description of your home's contents, and if you have them, videotapes or photographs of the possessions.

If you opt for a safe deposit box, consider a bank that is not in a flood zone or an area likely to flood from low-level Category 1 or 2 storms.

If you don't want a safe deposit box, gather these documents and put them in sealed plastic bags in a secure, waterproof container.

Evacuation Checklist
By The Tampa Tribune

• Take your hurricane survival kit with you.
• Decide where you intend to go, and plan your main route and alternates. Make sure someone outside the area knows where you will go. If you will stay with family or friends, make those arrangements.
• Gather vital documents such as deeds, insurance papers, birth certificates, stocks and bonds, legal papers, credit card and bank account numbers, and immunization records, and keep these in a secure, waterproof container. Include photos, videotape or other record of your valuables for insurance purposes.
• In the same or similar container, put photos and other family items impossible to replace.
• Assemble your evacuation kit, which should include: Maps for your destination and contact phone numbers; small hand tools such as wrenches, pliers and screwdrivers; a battery-operated radio and spare batteries; flashlights for every family member and extra batteries; a manual can opener and utility knife; diapers, formula, baby food, bottles, medicine; personal hygiene items; canned and ready-to-eat food; rain gear for each family members; pet food and cat litter because you should not leave pets home alone during a hurricane; a spare set of house and car keys; soap and liquid detergent.
• In addition, you should take these items, which can be kept in a covered plastic trash container, duffle bags or backpacks: pillows, blankets or sleeping bags; a spare pair of eyeglasses or contact lenses; prescription medication; quiet games and books; the container with your personal documents and family keepsakes.

Before leaving home:

• Get cash and some change since banks and ATMs may might not be open or working.
• Gas up your Fill your vehicles with gas.
• Secure your home by boarding windows and anchoring or bringing inside loose items in the yard.
• When you leave, lock doors and turn off electricity and gas if instructed to do so by emergency officials.
• Unplug major appliances and electronics like televisions and computers.
• Let your contact out of the area know you are leaving and where you are going. Have that person be your family contact should you be separated.
• Cover your pool filter and pump, and super-chlorinate the pool.

After The Storm
By The Tampa Tribune

Be patient. Access to affected areas will be controlled. You won't be able to return to your home until search and rescue operation are complete and safety hazards, such as downed trees and power lines, are cleared. It may take up to three days for emergency crews to reach your neighborhood. It may take two to four weeks before utilities are restored.

• Stay tuned to your local radio station for advice and instructions about emergency medical aid, food and other forms of assistance.
• Have valid ID. Security operations will include checkpoints. Valid identification with your current local address will be required.
• Avoid driving. Roads will have debris which will puncture your tires.
• Don't sight-see, especially at night. You may be mistaken for a looter and shot.

For Your Safety

• Avoid downed or dangling utility wires. Metal fences may have been "energized" by fallen wire. Be especially careful when cutting or clearing fallen trees. They may have power lines tangled in them.
• Beware of snakes, insects or animals driven to higher ground by floods.
• Enter your home with caution. Open windows and doors to ventilate and dry your home.
• If there has been flooding, have an electrician inspect your home or office before turning on the breaker.
• Be careful with fire. Do not strike a match until you are sure there are no breaks in gas lines. Avoid candles. Use battery-operated flashlights and lanterns instead.
• Keep grills for cooking outdoors in a well-ventilated area.
• Assess and photograph damage to your home and its contents.
• Use your telephone only for emergencies to keep lines open for emergency communications.

Repairs

• Make temporary repairs to correct safety hazards and minimize further damage.
• Only hired licensed contractors to do other repairs. Check with the local Building Department to ensure the contractor is licensed. If you do hire a contractor, do not pull the permits for them. If they ask you to do so, this may be an indication that they are not properly licensed.

Generators

Fueled by gas, generators can run appliances and fans. If you have lost power, don't connect a generator to building wiring. (This could injure or kill neighbors or electrical crews.) Plug appliances, etc. directly into the generator and place it in a well-ventilated area. Don't forget to check the oil every time you add gas. Conserve fuel by alternating appliances. For example, refrigerators can be kept cool by supplying only eight hours of power a day.

Clean-up Precautions

• Call professionals to remove large, uprooted trees.
• Always use safety equipment such as heavy gloves, safety goggles, heavy boots, long-sleeved shirts and pants.
• Tie back long hair and wear a hat and sunscreen.
• Drink plenty of fluids and rest and ask for help when you need it.
• Lift with the legs, not with the back.
• Don't burn trash.
• If you can't identify something, don't touch it.
• Be especially wary of downed power lines.
• Be especially careful with a chain saw.

Water Precautions

• Whenever widespread flooding occurs, there is potential for bacterial contamination. Bacteria such as shigella and samonella can lead to life-threatening dehydration for people and their pets if untreated by antibiotics. Disinfect any tap water you drink or use for cooking or cleaning. You must purify tap water until officials notify you of its safety. Bring water to a rolling boil or use water purification tablets.
• Properly stored water should be good for 2-3 weeks.
• Other precautions to remember: use disinfected water for brushing teeth, cleaning contact lenses and washing hands. This is important in preventing the spread of disease.

Order To Evacuate

By The Tampa Tribune

  Once the order to evacuate is given, any delay hitting the road could dramatically increase the time it takes to reach safety.

Traffic will quickly increase until a typical 20-minute interstate trip might take an hour or more.

Cars could easily back up on Interstate 275 from Tampa across Tampa Bay into Pinellas County.

The need to leave promptly is one reason to plan your route and destination now if you might be ordered to evacuate. The farther you have to travel, the earlier you'll need to leave.

Though it isn't encouraged, many families take more than one vehicle. If you do this, designate someone out of the area as a contact in case you get separated.

Emergency officials try to give people 12 to 15 hours of good weather to evacuate and reach shelters or some other safe haven.

The longer you wait to leave, the worse the traffic jams and weather will be. Also, the more powerful the approaching storm, the more people will be ordered to evacuate.

In 1999, Hurricane Floyd prompted 2 million Floridians to flee, creating massive traffic jams. The average time it took for people to reach their destination: four hours.

Some people spent 10 hours or more on the road.

If such a huge evacuation occurs this year, the state might convert some interstates and portions of Florida's Turnpike into one-way roads during the evacuation and when people return.

Also, the state might add more mobile, electric message signs to alert drivers of problems and low-frequency radio frequencies to broadcast conditions and shelter information.

Leaving early could be the difference between getting across Tampa Bay or not.

The Florida Highway Patrol will close bridges across the Bay when winds reach 45 mph. With winds at that speed, high-profile vehicles like RVs can flip, and waves could be crashing over the causeways.

Winds can reach that speed hours before the brunt of the storm strikes. A large approaching storm can send water over low roads leading away from coastal areas five hours before the eye hits.

You need to be settled someplace long before then.

Anyone who waits to leave until six hours before a hurricane hits can expect problems.

It could take an hour to travel 20 miles on any of the major roads leading out of the Tampa Bay area. The Bay bridges could be worse, taking two hours to cross.

It's also a good idea to examine some of the less-traveled roads rather than take the interstates. For example, U.S. 301 might be a faster route north or south than Interstate 75, especially if counties to the south had to evacuate earlier.

Advice For Older Adults
By The Tampa Tribune

In Florida, we are particularly vulnerable to hurricanes and older adults are especially susceptible to their effects. Those who live alone or are without the support of family and friends must take special precautions in the event of an emergency situation. People who are frail or disabled (either mentally or physically) may need special assistance from family members, friends or social service agencies.

Older adults who are also caregivers may require outside assistance. Excessive stress and anxiety can contribute to increased episodes of illness, particularly for persons with heart disease and other illnesses. If an older adult lives in a nursing home, congregate facility (ACLF) or boarding home, the administrators should be contacted to learn about the evacuation plan for that facility.

Home health care and homebound patients:

• Notify your health agency where you will be during a hurricane and when care can be re-established.
• If you are homebound and under the care of a physician, but not a home health agency, contact your physician.
• If you require respirators or other electric-dependent medical equipment, you should make prior medical arrangements with your physician.
• If you require oxygen, check with your supplier about emergency plans.
• If you evacuate, remember to take medications, written instructions regarding your care, special equipment and bedding with you.
• If you will need assistance in an evacuation, please register NOW with your County Emergency Management Agency.

Site Map

Send mail to diverdiego@frontier.com with questions or comments about this website.
Last modified: 07/01/2011 ☺