Hurricane Preparedness: It's a Family Affair

BRADENTON -- If you live in a coastal community, and if you have small children, now is the time to sit down and talk about preparing for a hurricane. In fact author, Jill

Expect a rougher hurricane season this year, says NOAA. Even more of a reason to use the upcoming weekend to get ready and get prepared as a family. Photo credit: NOAA

Klaskin Press, said that when a hurricane is approaching is not the time to figure out emergency needs and plans. She wrote a book to help families start a dialogue to weather the weather with peace and ease.

June 1 is the official date for the start of hurricane season, but this week was hurricane preparedness week.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) just issued their prediction for the Atlantic Basin for the six-month hurricane season and stated that it’s going to be busy and “active to extremely active” one for storms. The Atlantic Basin includes the Gulf of Mexico.

NOAA reminded people that as with every hurricane season, this outlook underscores the importance of having a hurricane preparedness plan in place, and it is projecting a 70 percent probability of the following ranges:

• 14 to 23 named storms (top winds of 39 mph or higher), including:
• 8 to 14 hurricanes (top winds of 74 mph or higher), of which:
• 3 to 7 could be major hurricanes (Category 3, 4 or 5; winds of at least 111 mph)

“If this outlook holds true, this season could be one of the more active on record,” said Jane Lubchenco, Ph.D., under secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator. “The greater likelihood of storms brings an increased risk of a landfall. In short, we urge everyone to be prepared.”

This book by Jill Klaskin Press is a great resource for everyone, as hurricane planning begins. The book was published in March 2010 by Black Rose Writing. Photo credit: Jill Klaskin Press

Jill Klaskin Press is also urging everyone to be prepared, especially families with small children living near or on the water.

She recently authored “Time to Get Ready...A Hurricane is Coming to Our Town” and knows firsthand what it is like to experience a hurricane with young children.

Press said she lives in Miami and lived through Hurricane Andrew.

“When I started talking to my friends who also experienced Andrew in Miami, they were not really opening up a dialogue with their children until a hurricane was approaching,” she said. “This makes for a very stressful time for children. Children today are very involved in every aspect in how a family functions. Why would you leave them out of the hurricane preparedness planning?”

If you imagine just how many children live around coastal communities around the Gulf of Mexico and on up the eastern coast of Florida to Maine, even Canada, and back around the Pacific Coast, this number is significant.

Of course, Press said that helping children to understand what is happening to help ease their fears is rather simple in her book.

Through the book's characters little Mia and her brother, Jonathan, with Elvis, the family dog, all help to create a step-by step hurricane preparedness plan from the time the family begins to plan for the storm, on through the hurricane and after the storm clean-up.

“Families can truly relate what the characters are going through and they can relate it to what is happening in their own households,” Press added.

After hurricane Andrew, Press decided to switch from novel writing to children storybook writing, as a way to help families cope with weather crisis as one unit.   Photo credit: Jill Klaskin Press

She made the point that children have such simple fears that include a fear of the dark, a fear of starving and a fear of not knowing what’s going on. By preparing early, many of the basic needs and fears can be taken care of and controlled during a weather crisis.

“Make sure everyone has a flashlight, as I’m a big believer in flashlights,” she said. “Other simple things would include their favorite food and drink. This is really the core.”

Tomorrow we’ll tell you what the spokesman from NOAA and the spokesman from Manatee County said about what to do this weekend. Check back with us on Saturday for a list of resources that can make this potentially “active” season a breeze.

This author hopes that children around the country are included in their family’s hurricane planning. She’s donating a portion of her sales to benefit children charities and organizations, too.

“My main hope is for families to plan now in a calm manner while nothing is approaching,” she said. “Children are just so vulnerable. My granddaughter Mia read the book with me and said, ‘How about the next one you write I help you write it.’”