If you need to evacuate hurricane Florence or you are staying put
Pick a town now and let hotels know you are evacuating from Florence. This works for every problematic hurricane. It usually doesn’t matter how many indoor pets you have, it just depends on the hotel. Most hotel brands will accept more than 2 dogs and cats for hurricane evacuees.
If you have horses and cows and you are on the outskirts, remember the last cat 3 that hit florida to the carolinas? A mass death of farm animals died from flooding and wind. Help them get to higher ground and better land by asking farms in out of evacuation zones to let you use their land to keep your animals.
Hurricane Florence is a CAT 4 by the time it reaches not land, but the warm waters off our coast. It will only gain more energy the longer it stays on the water. There is always a possibility for a CAT 4 to experience CAT 5 symptoms like wind, rain, and surging without becoming a CAT 5. If you are staying put, stay put in your house where the walls are strongest. Make sure you are near the safest bathroom in case of inner storm tornado activity or structure failure. Keep all leashes on you and pets near you. If you have pets that will hide, block off their access to their hiding places. Keep their stuff just as accessible as you will your stuff.
BUY WATER NOW. BUY HURRICANE FOOD NOW. BUY BATTERIES. GET A FLASHLIGHT. DO ALL OF THIS NOW. If you are in a possible flood zone and have a small enough raft that will fit out windows, KEEP IT ON THE HIGHEST FLOOR OF YOUR HOUSE. If you are in an apartment complex in a flood zone, you need to leave. No acceptions.
Park your cars somewhere with cameras like a bank parking lot. They’ll be safer if you have trees near your home. If you have a boat in your driveway, MOVE IT AWAY.
If you have the ability, slice trees near your place that have you worried.
KEEP ALL DOORS SHUT TO BEDROOMS. If a window breaks, the pressure won’t change the rest of the house this way.
Take your pets outside on a leash when you feel it is safe enough for all of you. The eye of the storm is good for this but that can be a days worth of rain and wind. The wind isn’t always constant. Keep an eye on it and get them down there on leashes as soon as you hear it stop. You will hear the wind coming back before you see it or feel it. Be close to a door when you do this.
If you have access to a radio, use it. Put it on a station for weather. It’ll warn you of possible tornadoes in the area. A safe key though is anyone in yellow-red-purple on the radar, is in tornado alley. Keep a close eye on the sky. Don’t go to sleep.
I’m serious about shopping now. The stores will run out of food today or yesterday. Get enough water for everyone. Get bandaids too.
Get a full tank of gas too. It will run out quickly and take the gas stations days to come back. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to get an extra gallon of gas if you are leaving the area as you will find this on your way out too.
Good luck and stay away from the sea and the miles of where storm surge could occur. If you are on the coast but inland on a marsh, the surge and flooding will affect you. And they will affect you even more during high tide. The marsh can absorb a ton, but it can’t absorb this much.
Fill your bathtubs for extra water and to flush toilets. Freeze water to keep food cool. Document EVERYTHING IN YOUR HOUSE to claim for insurance if necessary. Take all important documents and keep them with you in water proof bags.
If you trust your dishwasher, put items you love in it. It’s not fully waterproof as plumbing, once backed up, will enter through the hose at the back. But if you don’t mind that and would rather be able to keep things you love with you, store them in there. You can even do jewelry in jars with lids without them floating away if you are worried about that. If you have a safe, USE IT AND ABUSE IT.
Remember, hurricanes also mean people will come in and loot! So while you are gearing up to leave, keep this in mind for objects you are leaving behind.
UPDATE 9/11/18 SOUTH CAROLINA HAS NOW PUT THEIR PRICE GOUGING DURING EVAC LAW IN EFFECT. IF YOU FIND A HOTEL, GAS STATION OR FLIGHT DURING THE EVAC IN SC THAT IS STILL TAKING ADVANTAGE, YOU NEED TO FOLLOW UP WITH A COMPLAINT AFTER THE STORM TO HOLD THEM ACCOUNTABLE. NOON IS THE OFFICIAL MANDATORY EVAC FOR ABC OF COASTAL PROPERTIES IN SC. CHECK YOUR LOCATION AND WHERE YOU ARE LOCATED IN THE EVAC ZONES. NC HAD A MANDATORY EVAC STARTING AT 7 AM.
SOUTH CAROLINA HAS LIFTED THE MANDATORY FOR JASPER AND BEAUFORT AND COLOTIN. EDISTO IS STILL UNDER THE MANDATORY EVAC.
ROADS LEADING OUT OF COASTAL SC BOTH DIRECTIONS: i-26 beginning at I-526 all the way to I-77 for charleston, Route 501 for myrtle, HW 278 and 21 near beufort.
BRIDGES BETWEEN GEORGETOWN AND PAWLEYS WILL NOT BE CLOSED. I DO NOT RECOMMEND GOING OVER OR DRIVING AT ALL DURING THE HURRICANE.
IN THE PATH: NUCLEAR PLANTS, POWER PLANTS, ANIMAL WASTE STORAGE. When this strikes, everyone needs to be on the look out. When you come back, you still need extra gas as it may be difficult getting gas at home and in the location you are staying. You need to watch the power lines that are leaning over roads, watch for trees that haven’t fallen but might, BE CAREFUL COMING HOME AFTER. DONT PUSH YOUR CAR THROUGH A PUDDLE THAT YOU DONT KNOW THE DEPTH OF. DONT GO OVER SMALL BRIDGES IF IT ALREADY SHOWS DAMAGE. IT IS WISE TO JUST STAY PUT WHERE YOU ARE FOR A BIT UNTIL YOU GET A GO AHEAD OR EVEN A COUPLE DAYS TO LET ALL THE POPULATION GO BACK. Grab some cash. Eat good food. Don’t worry about things till you get back. BUY FOOD FOR YOUR TRIP BACK AND FOR YOUR HOME. You have no idea when shopping markets will be back up and running fully till you are home and it’s too late to grab food.
AS OF 3:45 9/11 HF AS UPPED ITS WINGSPAN AND METEOROLOGIST ARE EXPECTING IT TO GET STRONGER BEFORE FULLY LANDING.
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