GREENSBORO, N.C. — During a hurricane, every second counts and could mean the difference between life and death.
If you must weather the storm and don't evacuate, there are things that you’ll need to do during a hurricane to keep you and your family safe.
Even if you don't live along coastal areas, hurricanes can still move inland bringing with it destruction and flooding.
Below is a list of 20 things to do during a hurricane, with tips provided by North Carolina Emergency Management.
- Listen to the radio or television for emergency information.
- Secure your home, close storm shutters and secure outdoor objects or bring them indoors.
- Turn off gas, water and power if you are told to do so. Otherwise, turn the refrigerator thermostat to its coldest setting and keep its doors closed.
- Turn off propane tanks.
- Try not to use the phone, except for serious emergencies.
- Moor your boat if time permits.
- Make sure you have a supply of water for sanitary purposes such as cleaning and flushing toilets. Fill the bathtub and other larger containers with water.
- Find out how to keep food safe during and after an emergency.
- Leave your home or area if you are: Told to do so by local police.
- In a mobile home or temporary structure. Such structures are particularly dangerous during high wind events no matter how well fastened to the ground. In a high-rise building because hurricane winds are stronger at higher levels. On the coast, in a floodplain, near a river or on an island waterway.
- If you are unable to leave, go to the safest room in your house.
- Stay indoors during the hurricane. Stay away from windows and glass doors.
- Close all interior doors – secure and brace external doors.
- Keep curtains and blinds closed.
- Do not be fooled if there is a lull; it could be the eye of the storm – winds will pick up again.
- Take shelter in a small interior room, closet or hallway on the lowest level.
- Lie on the floor under a table or another sturdy object.
- If trapped in a building by flooding, go to the highest level of the building. Do not climb into a closed attic. You may become trapped by rising floodwater.
- Do not walk, swim, or drive through floodwaters. Turn around. Don’t drown! Just six inches of fast-moving water can knock you down, and one foot of moving water can sweep your vehicle away.
- Stay off of bridges over fast-moving water.
Editor's Note: This article was originally published in 2018 by our sister-station WFMY.
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