They may not strike, but you should still be ready.
Before the Atlantic hurricane season officially begins Saturday, the National Hurricane Center is hosting National Hurricane Preparedness Week this week.
Saturday, June 1 marks Day 1 of the six-month hurricane period ending in November, which is a reminder for area counties to double-check and inform residents about disaster plans.
Lenoir Community College will be the first facility to open as shelter in Lenoir County in the event of a Category 2 or higher hurricane.
The NHC is predicting between 13 and 20 tropical storms in 2013. Up to 11 of those are predicted to become hurricanes and between three and six could turn into major storms.
“We typically take a look at what’s coming off Africa,” said meteorologist Lara Pagano about tracking the tropical storm cycle. “You have to have the warm sea surface temperatures and not too much wind sheer out there so it can start to develop.”
Pagano, who works with the National Weather Service in Newport, said with these “ingredients,” the weather service can forecast the intensity of a storm as it gets closer.
Although it will be an active hurricane season, Pagano said there may or may not be landfall.
“(There is) no telling where these hurricanes are going to go,” she said. “I think residents need to be prepared this summer no matter what.”
She said preparedness is the biggest thing NWS pushes, including evacuation routes and stocking up on emergency kit supplies.
The equipment should include drinking water and canned foods, a portable radio with spare batteries and hand wipes, among other items. Area residents should also be familiar with their community’s evacuation plan.
Randy Skinner, Greene County Emergency Services manager, said the county’s emergency operation plan covers a wide range of instances.
“The biggest thing I can stress to the citizens of the county is to make sure you have supplies that last you at least three days,” he said.
In Greene County, the first shelter likely to open if necessary is Greene Central High School, because it also serves as an animal shelter during disaster relief.
According to Margaret Bell, the livestock agent with Jones County Cooperative Extension, people with pets or livestock also should consider their animals when drafting emergency plans.
“Prepare ahead of time,” she said. “(People) don’t think about their animals.”
Bell said shelter in Jones County will be available for properly identified pets whose owner brings their supplies and proof of a rabies vaccination. People and animals will be respectively housed at the Jones County Civic Center in the event of a disaster.
Many livestock farms operate in Jones County, and some of those can be sheltered.
“Livestock is a little more complicated,” Bell said. “It’s usually better to shelter in place.”
With a busy hurricane season predicted, one hasn’t made landfall since Hurricane Irene in 2011. More than 2 million people were under mandatory evacuation and 26 river-flooding records were broken, according to Huffingtonpost.com.
Irene cost Greene Central High School more than $200,000 after the storm, “peeled back part of the roof lining and poured water down on our brand new gym floor,” said Patrick Miller, Greene County Schools superintendent.
He said the floor — which hadn’t been installed more than a year — was buckling and was replaced a day before the school’s basketball practice began.
Hurricane Floyd of 1999, also called the “500-Year Storm,” devastated the area more than the others. When that catastrophic storm bellowed into North Carolina, most of Kinston’s highways were inundated; the Neuse River rose to 28 feet and it cost Lenoir County $310,000,000 in damages.
Floyd was tracked in its early stages.
“People need to pay attention to the forecast (and) the hazards that are involved with them and heed the advice of the emergency managers and the national weather services,” Pagano said. “I think that’s the best that most people can do at this point.”
Jessika Morgan can be reached at 252-559-1078 or at jessika.morgan@Kinston.com. Follow her on Twitter @JessikaMorgan.
Hurricane Preparedness
- Become familiar with your community’s disaster preparedness plan
- Put together an emergency kit with: A three-day supply of drinking water and food you don’t have to cook, portable weather radio and extra batteries, basic tools, a flashlight, matches, clothing, blankets, baby items, prescription medications, extra car and house keys, extra eyeglasses, credit cards and cash, important documents seals in plastic bags
- Before the storm, remove anything from your yard that may become flying debris during the storm
- Review homeowner’s insurance policy, and take before and after photos to make insurance claims easier to file
Source: Weather.com and the Lenoir County Cooperative Extension Office