Is your Hurricane Kit ready ?new poll from AP says NO

[f5]

http://www.southernstandard.net/news.php?viewStory=29893

Poll: Majority in five states have made no hurricane preparations

CHARLOTTE, N.C. Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. -- More than half the residents of the five East Coast states from Virginia to Florida haven't made any preparations for the coming hurricane season, according to a poll released Monday.

The poll conducted by Elon University found that 57 percent of the residents of Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida said they and their families have done nothing to get ready for the hurricane season that begins June 1 -- even after the devastating storms of 2005 that included Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

Preparedness was particularly lax among people living away from coastal areas, where just 27 percent said they had made some preparations for the coming storm season.

Elon surveyed 1,277 adults by telephone during two rounds of polling between Feb. 20 and March 2. The survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.8 percentage points.

Fifty-nine percent of the people polled said they had direct experience with a hurricane within the last five years. About 35 percent said they suffered home or property damage, although just 10 percent of that group described the damage as severe.

Hunter Bacot, a political science professor who oversees Elon's polling efforts, described the poll's results as unsettling.

"Because the majority of the damage experienced by people was not severe, they seem to be desensitized to the power of these storms, despite being only six months removed from Katrina," Bacot said.

The 2005 Atlantic hurricane season set new standards as the busiest and costliest on record, with 26 named storms, 13 hurricanes, four major hurricanes that hit the U.S. and three powerful Category 5 storms.

Katrina resulted in 1,300 deaths, making it the deadliest U.S. hurricane since 1928, and caused a record $34.4 billion in insured losses.

Total insured losses for the season were $47.2 billion, breaking a record set in 2004, when four major hurricanes also hit the U.S.

When asked about the ability of governments to manage a hurricane's aftermath, respondents expressed greater confidence in state and local governments than in the federal government, which was widely pilloried for its slow response to Katrina.

Seventy percent of people surveyed said they had some or a lot of confidence in local government to manage events after a hurricane, while 71 percent said the same of their state government. Just 46 percent said they had some or a lot of confidence in the federal government.

At the same time, the federal government was the most popular choice -- 40 percent-- when people were asked who should pick up the tab for hurricane rebuilding costs not covered by insurance. Just 16 percent said those costs should be borne by states; 5 percent named the local government; 25 percent said it should be the responsibility of people whose homes or businesses were damaged.

Among people preparing for a hurricane, 18 percent said they were assembling an emergency kit and buying basic supplies such as water, canned food and batteries, making that the most popular response.

Seven percent of respondents said they had prepared their homes for a hurricane by installing special shutters or doors or making other upgrades; 5 percent said they had purchased a portable generator or installed an emergency generator.

[CHRISTY]

u bet iam ready.to me this is most anticipated hurricane season ever...

[weatherwoman132]

well here in florida, we are still recovering, so how are we supposed to prepare at the same time?

[ROCK]

Might want to move this to the hurricane preparation forum....

[MiamiensisWx]

What's scary, in addition, is that Wilma is not mentioned in the article. Be prepared for more deaths (though less than 100) than Andrew when a large hurricane (especially a large major hurricane) strikes somewhere, even if it strikes an area that is less surge-prone than the Gulf coast, such as southeast Florida.

[ROCK]

That poll had a very small sample size. I have a hard time believeing people are not that prepared. The article also said the majority of people living in coastal areas. How do you get a majority out of 1200 people?? sounds like more of a minority...

[x-y-no]

I stock up my kit in May each year. Really no point doing it this early.

[ROCK]

I stock up my kit in May each year. Really no point doing it this early.

May is about the right time. I need some plylox, cut some more window boards, and wire the breaker box to accommodate my generator.

[cheezyWXguy]

up here in NTX, we dont prepare for hurricanes...we prepare for tornadoes!!! not much better

[EDR1222]

I got things together in May of last year. I will probably do it around the same time this year.

[Opal storm]

I got plywood to board up all the windows, and a generator.I still have a huge load of flashlights and batteries I received from relief stations during Ivan,I even still have 5 boxes of MRE's left.So I'm pretty much set for another hurricane (God forbid ),I'm planning on filling up my gas cans in a couple of weeks to save for the generator.

[weatherwoman132]

a couple of weeks? youre prepared.

[ROCK]

I got plywood to board up all the windows, and a generator.I still have a huge load of flashlights and batteries I received from relief stations during Ivan,I even still have 5 boxes of MRE's left.So I'm pretty much set for another hurricane (God forbid ),I'm planning on filling up my gas cans in a couple of weeks to save for the generator.

I would wait on the gas for awhile. It might go bad by the time August / Sept. comes around. You are way ahead of me......

[Opal storm]

I got plywood to board up all the windows, and a generator.I still have a huge load of flashlights and batteries I received from relief stations during Ivan,I even still have 5 boxes of MRE's left.So I'm pretty much set for another hurricane (God forbid ),I'm planning on filling up my gas cans in a couple of weeks to save for the generator.

I would wait on the gas for awhile. It might go bad by the time August / Sept. comes around. You are way ahead of me......

Yeah,I was thinking about that,I might just wait till early June to get the gas.It was so stessful and chaotic waiting in those mile long lines for gas during Ivan and Dennis I just don't want to go through that again.

[ROCK]

I got plywood to board up all the windows, and a generator.I still have a huge load of flashlights and batteries I received from relief stations during Ivan,I even still have 5 boxes of MRE's left.So I'm pretty much set for another hurricane (God forbid ),I'm planning on filling up my gas cans in a couple of weeks to save for the generator.

I would wait on the gas for awhile. It might go bad by the time August / Sept. comes around. You are way ahead of me......

Yeah,I was thinking about that,I might just wait till early June to get the gas.It was so stessful and chaotic waiting in those mile long lines for gas during Ivan and Dennis I just don't want to go through that again.

though I havent been through one in 23 years I know where you are coming from. Gas for the Rita evac was a pain.

[southerngale]

My hurricane "kit" last year turned out to be a joke. My hurricane kit this year consists of luggage.

[Audrey2Katrina]

I'd have to agree with Southerngale on this one. The only use I'd have for a "kit" per se, would be if a TS or minimal 1 came our way, what with the dubious condition of our levee systems. Beyond that, a Hurricane "PLAN" is much more important, and first and foremost in that is to "Get out of Dodge!"

A2K

[southerngale]

I'd have to agree with Southerngale on this one. The only use I'd have for a "kit" per se, would be if a TS or minimal 1 came our way, what with the dubious condition of our levee systems. Beyond that, a Hurricane "PLAN" is much more important, and first and foremost in that is to "Get out of Dodge!"

A2K

True, but you can't know what it will be days ahead, when you need to plan to evacuate. You may be watching a tropical storm that is forecast to become a cat. 1 and think, "ok, I can stay for that" but then it strengthens more than anticipated at the last minute and makes landfall as a cat. 2 or cat. 3 or even higher. Meteorologists will tell you that it's hard to forecast intensity beyond about 6-12 hours. I've seen at least one say that on here.

[ROCK]

I'd have to agree with Southerngale on this one. The only use I'd have for a "kit" per se, would be if a TS or minimal 1 came our way, what with the dubious condition of our levee systems. Beyond that, a Hurricane "PLAN" is much more important, and first and foremost in that is to "Get out of Dodge!"

A2K

True, but you can't know what it will be days ahead, when you need to plan to evacuate. You may be watching a tropical storm that is forecast to become a cat. 1 and think, "ok, I can stay for that" but then it strengthens more than anticipated at the last minute and makes landfall as a cat. 2 or cat. 3 or even higher. Meteorologists will tell you that it's hard to forecast intensity beyond about 6-12 hours. I've seen at least one say that on here.

true.... Luckly, Kat and Rita were weakening on their way to landfall. Thats not to say the opposite can't happen..... better safe than sorry....

[Audrey2Katrina]

I'd have to agree with Southerngale on this one. The only use I'd have for a "kit" per se, would be if a TS or minimal 1 came our way, what with the dubious condition of our levee systems. Beyond that, a Hurricane "PLAN" is much more important, and first and foremost in that is to "Get out of Dodge!"

A2K

True, but you can't know what it will be days ahead, when you need to plan to evacuate. You may be watching a tropical storm that is forecast to become a cat. 1 and think, "ok, I can stay for that" but then it strengthens more than anticipated at the last minute and makes landfall as a cat. 2 or cat. 3 or even higher. Meteorologists will tell you that it's hard to forecast intensity beyond about 6-12 hours. I've seen at least one say that on here.

That's true; but I would follow the path of the storm until it was about 36 hours away at minimum. I can't speak for other areas; but if history is any indicator, they rarely "strengthen" once moving to the Northern GOM, with the possible exception of Audrey, which was still quite far to the west from here. There are, usually, enough indicators to tell if a storm is strengthening or simply stable or even weakening before it hits my area.

Oh, yeah, Opal was another that made a sudden intensification, quite literally overnight if memory serves me right; but it also traveled over different contours before making landfall over the Florida panhandle. I guess I'd just have to go with my instincts on whether to stay or leave, because I ain't about to evacuate every time a hurricane is in the Gulf with some probability to strike my area.. I'd have to join a bunch of nomads. As far as me it still comes down to a Plan, moreso than a kit. I have friends who live on a higher ridge where we usually conglomerate in the event of the smaller storms. The "kit" if you want to call it that is lots of bottled water, canned food, and a good handy boat. Like I said earlier, for the bigger ones, or those expected to strengthen--the plan is to vacate the area.

A2K