HAMPTON ROADS, Va. - Hurricane Isaias is making its way to our area. Experts say now is the time to prepare for the worst before it’s too late.
Jason Elmore with the Virginia Department of Emergency Management (VDEM) is urging people to start preparing for the worst now.
“In situations like this we've seen storms that have knocked out power for several days and weeks,” says Elmore.
VDEM say people should take stock on the items they need now because they often are in short supply closer to when the storm hits.
Elmore says people often forget to pack an emergency kit with at least a three-day supply of non-perishable food, bottled water, flashlights and important documents and medications.
253 the CDC has also made some recommendations for those kits due to that face coverings hand sanitizer soaps disinfecting wipes and those types of items as well.
VDEM’s emergency kit checklist can be found here.
As expected, COVID-19 could possibly impact the local emergency response.
“Places that have been shelters in the past may not be conducive to physical distancing. You have to pay attention to your local emergency managers and your localities to find out if shelters are open, and where they're located, and any kind of specifics— requirements that they may have to come to that shelter,” says Elmore.
VDEM says people should know their zone in case of evacuation. The search tool can be found on knowyourzoneva.org.
“If we see that there's going to be a danger to a specific area, we can get folks to go to the next safest area in that evacuation plan and we try to do that early before the impact is there,” says Elmore.
Making sure the loose Items outside of your home are stored away safely or properly tacked down is the first step to preparing for high winds.
“They can become flying objects that can cause injury if someone is in the path of that,” says Elmore.
Emergency management says make sure your flood insurance is up to date now and warns drivers to turn around and don’t drown if flooding happens.
“This is stuff that can be done well in advance of the storm so if you haven't already done so, today is a good day,” says Elmore.
Click here for more local hurricane resources and information
