Louisiana children taught how to prepare for storms
The 2010 hurricane season set to begin 1 June; from the Florida panhandle to Brownsville, Texas, there is a 44 percent chance of at least one major hurricane making landfall, compared to a 30 percent average in the last century; the Louisiana homeland security office offers a Get a Game Plan book for children in which the main character, Get-a-Game-Plan Gator, walks children through the necessary preparations for a natural disaster
A well-equipped commercial survival kit // Source: quakekare.com
This week is National Hurricane Preparedness Week, with the 2010 hurricane season set to begin 1 June, and south Louisiana residents are well-advised to start taking precautions. Although the bulk of major storms do not usually strike until August, last year’s season actually started early. It is thus never too soon to begin preparing.
Children should be a crucial part of the planning process. While it is natural for them to be frightened with a storm on the way, being informed can save time and lives. The Daily World’s Bruce Brown reports that with that in mind, the Louisiana Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness developed a Get a Game Plan book prepared for elementary school children.
Numerous illustrations, featuring the main character Get-a-Game-Plan Gator, are ready for crayons. With the book’s simple, easy to grasp approach, children learn how valuable it is to be prepared.
Children are reminded that pets are a big part of the game plan, as are preventative maintenance and upgrades on shutters and roofs at home.
A useful list of key family documents is included, and children are urged to help make copies and seal documents in waterproof bags.
Flashlights, portable radios, extra batteries and portable TVs are recommended.
Brown writes that throughout the booklet, early communication is stressed. In fact, while the book is geared to help children understand storms and how to prepare for one, adults could take some pointers from the material.
Gulf Coast residents may have been lulled into a false sense of security by the 2009 Atlantic hurricane season, which featured nine tropical storms, the lowest number in a dozen years.
There were eleven tropical depressions, three hurricanes and two major storms. Only tropical storm Claudette made landfall in the United States.
It does not take a long memory to recall the devastating one-two punch of hurricanes Katrina and Rita five years ago, or the pairing of Gustav and Ike in 2008. Also, researchers at Colorado State University are calling for 15 named storms in the Atlantic Basin in 2010, including 8 hurricanes and 4 major hurricanes.
From the Florida panhandle to Brownsville, Texas, there is a 44 percent chance of at least one major hurricane making landfall, compared to a 30 percent average in the last century.
