Monday, April 13, 2009

5 Things To Do Before Hurricane Season

By Riche Goodman

Hurricane Season, which lasts from July to November, is a big part of your life if you currently live in the southern part of the United States and it's really important that you be prepared for it. You normally get some warning of when a storm is approaching, but there are 5 things that you should do before the season gets started so that you avoid inconvenience or shortages.

Lots of folks remember to prepare their households with non-perishable food and water to get ready for hurricane season. However, they forget to do damage control for items like computers. Computers contain lots of personal information, financial records, family photos and other information.

5 items you must take care of before the arrival of hurricane season, to not only make sure you survive, but also keep your data stored away properly for insurance purposes, or even a FEMA loan are as follows:

1. Loss of your important data, emails, financial files, and pictures of belongings during hurricane season is the first reason that you should back it up with Carbonite. They help you protect yourself and Carbonite Online Backup is completely automatic, secure and encrypted and only costs $54.95 per year. Your important information can be irreplaceable if something happens to your laptop or personal computer during hurricane season. All of your personal information will be safe and protected and it will speed up any insurance claims, should you need them.

2. Stocking up on water is one of the 5 things you must do before hurricane season. Often municipal water supplies become contaminated and there is no way to boil water if utility outages occur. Stores become depleted of bottled water and it can take days for rescue workers to reach you with their limited supply of bottled water. Keep gallons of bottled water supplied on a regular basis.

3. Buy plenty of batteries. Batteries are another one of those must haves during hurricane season because they are necessary for powering flashlights, which you will need at night if there is no power, and radios, which you will need to keep yourself informed during and after the storm until power services have been restored. Again, don't wait until the last minute to gather these items because once a storm warning has been issued, people will be running to the store and supplies will be depleted.

4. Keep your pantry stocked with canned goods. This is something people in northern states do to prepare for snow season, and is something that southerners should do as well to prepare for hurricane season. If you keep your shelves stock with non-perishables like canned goods, you will be ready to survive a couple of days without power should that occur, as you will be unable to eat anything out of your refrigerator after 2 days. Therefore, it is important to have ample food, with reasonable expiration dates, in your pantry.

5. Get yourself a flashlight and radio that operate on batteries. You must have these items in order to be informed about what is going on and of course to be able to see at night. Most grocery stores and hardware stores keep this in stock, especially during the season of hurricanes.

Your personal survival and the survival of your crucial information and financial documents are important, but you wont have to worry, if you have followed these 5 things you must do before hurricane season. You can visit www.carbonite.com for the safe storage of your important computer data.

About the Author:

No comments: