Emergency Tips

Looks like we’re having really bad weather all over the country. I am hearing from many people about bad storms and power outages.

If you’re in an area where storms are about to hit this winter, please do whichever of these things is approporiate to your situation:

Cut tree limbs – if there’s anything near your home, porch, garage, etc. – cut them off now, before the next storm hits.

Look at your tree trunks to see if there are any cracks. In high winds, large branches or entire sections of trees will come crashing into your home.

If your area normally floods, or if you’ve had fires or erosion near you – pick up sand bags NOW and start filling them and placing them to protect your home. You can’t place them properly during a storm – the ground where you should have place them is too unstable.

Does your area have tornadoes, hurricanes, etc.? If you don’t have storm windows, it’s time to get them and install them. Same with areas that haven’t had high winds like that, but have started to have them.

Get a generator, candles and lots of batteries. Make sure your generator is fully fueled – and that it works.

Get extra batteries for your laptop, just in case you can’t plug it in for a few days. It may help you communicate with the outside world – and perhaps even keep working, if your power goes out.

Oh, yes, get a decent transistor radio, or portable radio – with batteries, so you can tune into emergency broadcasts.