‘New normal’ requires year-round hurricane preparedness mindset, advocates urge

Dec. 23--If we're entering a "new normal" with more frequent and more powerful hurricanes, then June 1 can no longer be the start of hurricane preparedness season.

Getting ready for the next storm is now a year-round vocation.

So say a diverse group of experts and advocates behind a renewed hurricane prep awareness program that's off to a much earlier-than-normal start for next year.

"In 2017, we had three hurricanes that all set records," said Craig Fugate, former director of both the Federal Emergency Management Agency and Florida Division of Emergency Management. "This is our new normal, and now is the time to get ready."

Despite annual awareness efforts, sponsors and organizers of the National Hurricane Survival Initiative and its state-centric affiliate, Get Ready, Florida!, say not enough people heeded the messages before Hurricane Irma barreled into the state last September. What's more, results of a post-Irma, multiple-choice survey of 500 Florida residents taken Dec. 5 to 10 reveal that too many Floridians remain uninformed about the best and safest strategies to employ before, during and after dangerous hurricanes:

-- One in five -- 22 percent -- say their windows weren't protected.

-- Asked to select an option to make their windows safer if they didn't have shutters or impact-resistant windows, 17 percent made a wrong selection: "Tape on windows" (7 percent); "Cardboard on windows" (3 percent), or "Leave windows slightly open to stabilize pressure" (7 percent). Seventy-six percent correctly chose "Plywood on windows," and 19 percent selected "None of these/Unsure." (For some of the survey questions, total percentage points exceeded 100, meaning some respondents checked more than one answer.)

-- Nearly six in 10 said they didn't know the dollar amount of their hurricane-insurance deductible. Half of respondents said it would be "somewhat difficult," "very difficult" or impossible to come up with the amount of the average deductible -- around $5,000 -- to make repairs.

Ron Hurtibise

Have you changed your mind about flood insurance?

Experts say the

Hurricane Harvey catastrophe in Houston and elsewhere in Texas proves that everyone who owns a home or business is vulnerable.

Their advice: forget the maps produced by the Federal Emergency Management Administration separating properties...

Have you changed your mind about flood insurance?

Experts say the Hurricane Harvey catastrophe in Houston and elsewhere in Texas proves that everyone who owns a home or business is vulnerable.

Their advice: forget the maps produced by the Federal Emergency Management Administration separating properties...

(Ron Hurtibise)

-- The question "Which of the following locations is safe to run a generator following a power outage?" had 32 percent of respondents choosing one of the these: "Any room other than a bedroom" (2 percent); "Any room with an open window" (4 percent); "Apartment balcony" (10 percent); "Crawlspace" (1 percent); "Garage" (13 percent); or "Attic or second floor" (2 percent).

-- Seventy-three percent chose "None of these locations are safe," but the fact that one in four selected one of the others -- any of which could end in the deaths of a home's occupants -- is proof that not enough Florida residents are prepared to get through the next storm, Fugate said.

Ron Sachs, CEO of the statewide advertising and public relations firm Sachs Media Group has for 22 years served as executive producer of annual hurricane preparedness videos offered for free broadcast to TV stations throughout the state and nation.

The newest Florida-specific version -- Get Ready, Florida! -- will debut on South Florida's CBS affiliate WFOR not in early June, but rather on Feb. 2 at 7:30 p.m.

This year's special will cover subjects many residents don't consider when getting ready for a hurricane, Fugate said. These include understanding what their insurance policy covers and how much their deductible is -- and buying more insurance to reduce the deductible if they can't cover it out-of-pocket.

Plus, too many people still don't realize their regular property insurance policies, including hurricane insurance for wind damage, won't cover destruction from rising flood waters, he said. Tens of thousands of Texans suffered the consequences of not having flood insurance after Hurricane Harvey dumped unprecedented amounts of water on the Houston region.

Just because someone isn't in a special flood hazard zone and required to buy insurance if they have a federally backed mortgage doesn't mean they shouldn't have flood insurance, Fugate said.

One of the most important preparations homeowners can make before hurricane season is figuring out what makes their home vulnerable and finding the money to "harden" it, Sachs said.

"What we learned in this past storm season is many people who have older homes are unaware of what part of their home is most vulnerable -- and that's the garage door [if not reinforced according to current codes]," he said.

Ron Hurtibise

Home insurance rates in South Florida -- already increasing thanks to claims abuses -- will likely be boosted even more as a result of the unusually active 2017 storm season.

That's what insurance industry experts are expecting as loss reports roll in from hurricanes Harvey,

Irma and Maria, California...

Home insurance rates in South Florida -- already increasing thanks to claims abuses -- will likely be boosted even more as a result of the unusually active 2017 storm season.

That's what insurance industry experts are expecting as loss reports roll in from hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria, California...

(Ron Hurtibise)

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