March 2009

Hurricane preparedness Just as essential, even in bad economic times

Regardless of the Dow Jones Index, the Gross Domestic Product or the unemployment statistics, hurricanes can still pose a tremendous threat to life and property. That’s why it’s more important than ever to be prepared well in advance of a hurricane’s approach.

For example, in the summer of 1935, the Great Depression had been grinding on for six years. As part of a relief effort, a large contingent of World War I veterans had been assigned to a work camp in order to construct a new rail bridge. Rumors of a hurricane approaching south Florida had been heard, but not considered a threat since the official forecast carried the storm south of the Florida Keys.

The Labor Day storm of 1935 went on to claim the lives of between 400 and 600 people – most of them the war veteran work force – and remains the most intense landfalling hurricane in American history.

Get ready to survive the storm starting now. Some simple cost-saving tips include:

• See what you need. Before you buy a single item for your survival kit, do a quick inventory of what’s in your home. You may have many of the essential survival items on hand.

• Spread the expense. Buy a few extra items each week to spread the cost of buying what you need over a longer period. This is an excellent opportunity to buy when items are on sale.

• Buy only what you will use. It may seem elementary, but if your family will not eat a certain type of nonperishable food, don’t buy it. Look for items that your family prefers and stock up on those.

• Bottle your own. During the year, save empty water and soda bottles, including their caps. When a storm threatens, fill these bottles with water from your tap and save the expense of buying bottled water.

For a list of items to include in your survival kit and for more cost-saving preparedness ideas, visit Pinellas County’s Emergency Management website at www.pinellascounty.org/emergency, or call (727) 464-3800.

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You gotta know when to hold ’em...

Or, at least, tie them down. When storm winds blow, mechanical tie-down systems can help hold your shed, mobile home or carport in place by providing secure anchor points to resist wind uplift. Many systems attach with metal anchors in the ground, while others attach to buried concrete piers. From those points, loops of heavy wire or metal bands wrap around the structure, holding it together and down against wind forces. It’s not only structures that can benefit from tie-downs. Items such as air conditioner compressor units can be blown over during a hurricane. Tie-downs can hold these units well enough to resist wind loads.

Some important things to consider about tie-down systems:

• Check local codes to ensure you buy an approved system

• Buy an appropriately strong system to secure your structures

• Have a licensed contractor install a tie-down system for your mobile home

• Follow the manufacturer’s directions carefully to ensure maximum strength

• Routinely inspect your tie-downs for rust or other decay

While tie-down systems do provide some measure of protection against wind, do NOT consider the structures they secure to be a safe shelter in a hurricane! Even the most modern, well-built post-Hurricane-Andrew mobile homes can be overturned by high winds if the anchors fail. Always seek shelter in a substantially built structure.

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Windows on the world

When people look to buy or rent a home, some of the things they might consider are the property taxes, proximity to schools and shopping, and how much space is inside the home. And if the future home has beautiful windows offering a spectacular view, that could be a deal maker.

While these windows do allow sunlight and fresh air in, their main purpose is to help keep the elements out. This becomes critical during the impact of a hurricane or other strong weather.
Windows are particularly vulnerable openings in your home. When evaluating your windows to see how well they will hold up to a storm’s fury, you should check some very important things:

• Fix ‘em up. Broken glass, missing parts and other deficiencies may not normally pose a problem. When a hurricane’s winds start to blow, that may be a completely different story. Homeowners should check their windows thoroughly and make any necessary repairs. Renters in apartments should bring any concerns to the attention of the property manager or landlord.

• Seal ‘em up. Windows can hold out wind-driven rain, but only if they are sealed properly. Check the weather stripping on your windows at all of the points where the window parts make contact. If it’s dried out, cracked or missing, it’s time to replace it. Also, check around the perimeter of the window frame where it mounts against the home. There should be a nice bead of caulk there. If the caulk is dried out and in bad repair, it’s a good idea to scrape the old stuff out and apply a new bead of a high-quality caulk made for doors and windows.

• Batten ‘em down. Glass is very fragile and easily damaged by storm-blown debris. Keeping those panes intact is a high priority because simply shuttering your windows increases the survivability of your home by one Saffir-Simpson category of storm intensity – if your home can survive a category two storm, shuttering can increase its survivability to category three. Unfortunately, every window shuttering and protection system is a trade off between cost and convenience. Electrically operated roll-down shutters and high-quality impact-rated glass is the ultimate in convenience, but they both come with a hefty price tag. Plywood is an extremely economical choice, but hefting those heavy panels before a storm’s arrival isn’t what anyone would call convenient. Decide on a system that strikes a balance between the cost you can afford and the convenience you need.

For more information on how to prepare your home to withstand hurricane-force winds, visit the Federal Alliance for Safe Homes’ website at www.flash.org.

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What about your car?

Your windows are shuttered. You have your survival kit at the ready. You are as prepared as you can be. But once the storm passes, how do you deal with damage to your car? Here are some tips when you make an insurance claim on your damaged vehicle:

• Comprehensive coverage, sometimes called Other Than Collision coverage, will pay for all wind and flood damage to your vehicle’s body, systems and glass. In some rare occurrences, water damage may be covered under the collision portion of your policy.

• Rental-vehicle expenses due to a covered loss are reimbursed only if you have elected to add Rental Reimbursement coverage to your policy.

• Most policies have a deductible for comprehensive coverage. Florida law states that no deductible may be applied for replacement of a front windshield. If other auto glass is damaged, the policy’s comprehensive deductible may apply.

• If you still have a loan on your vehicle, the settlement check may be made payable to the loan holder and the insured jointly.

• If the damage from salt water rises to the point of reaching the inside floor boards, the insurance company will more than likely deem the vehicle a total loss. If the flooding is from fresh water, the extent of the water damage will determine if the insurance company will call for repairs or deem it a total loss.

For more insurance tips and suggestions, read the Consumer Guide to Homeowner Insurance produced by the Florida Department of Financial Services. The guide may be obtained by downloading it from the website at www.myfloridacfo.com or by calling the toll-free Florida Department of Financial Services Consumer Helpline at (877) MyFLCFO [(877) 693-5236] and asking for a free copy to be mailed to your home.

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Storms in History

The Storm of the Century - 1993

In mid-March 1993, the temperatures in Florida were seasonably mild, and most residents were enjoying the balmy temperatures before beginning the process of bracing themselves for the coming late-spring and summer heat. Anyone who brought a newspaper to the beach might have noticed the stories telling of a coming storm system that would affect the area. Sure, cold fronts do push through the area this time of the year, but residents weren’t ready for what was to come.

In the late hours of March 12, what has come to be known as the Storm of the Century began its powerful sweep across the eastern United States. Extremely cold air from Canada spilled down into the Gulf of Mexico, turning what was a small disorganized low pressure system into a monster. As the squall lines slammed into Florida, individual storms began to bow out in front of the main line. This phenomenon, known as a derecho (de*re′*show), focuses a tremendous amount of energy in the storm, creating sustained winds in excess of 60 miles per hour. Waves of these derechoes spawned tornadoes and damaging winds across the peninsula, continuing on to Cuba.

The powerful winds of the main storm piled water into the west coast of Florida, leading to a hurricane-like storm surge of 6 to 7 feet in Tampa Bay, with higher surge totals north of the area. Tampa Fire Rescue and the National Guard had to rescue scores of residents from flooding in the south Tampa area as the bay pushed ashore. Unseasonably cold weather settled in behind the violent weather, making for a long, stressful weekend.

The storm later caused tremendous snowfall totals in 26 states and Canada. An unofficial report of 8″ of snow was measured in Jay, Florida. Every airport from Halifax, Nova Scotia, to Atlanta, Georgia, was closed at one time due to the tremendous snowfall.

While memories of the storm are still vivid in the minds of Florida residents, it should be noted that the sustained winds of this storm never exceeded sustained hurricane-force winds (74 miles per hour) in Pinellas County.

To read more about the Storm of the Century, visit the Wikipedia entry at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Storm_of_the_Century_(1993).

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We take our show on the road

Hurricane season is coming, and if you’re looking for a presentation for your homeowner’s association, civic group, church, business or other gathering, Pinellas County can help.

Currently, there are six hurricane-related presentations that can be requested:

• Hurricane 101 - What are hurricanes? How do they form? What are their effects? Get the basics on these dangerous tropical storms.

• Preparing your Pets - Remember that Fluffy and Fido need to be planned for as well. Learn some common-sense tips on how to prepare your pet for hurricane season.

• Does it Take a Category 5? - Everyone in Florida worries about the next ‘big one.’ But does a hurricane have to be a monster to do major damage? See what damage storms of all Saffir-Simpson categories are able to do.

• Becoming Storm Savvy - While we are still in the hurricane preseason, now is an excellent time to learn how you can prepare yourself to prevent panic if we are affected by a storm. From learning how to put together a survival kit without busting your budget to planning ahead for evacuations, tips are offered for everyone.

• Busting Hurricane Myths - Learn the dangers of some commonly held beliefs when hurricanes approach. Not only will you find the real story, you may also save your life if the big one comes.

• Hurricanes for Kids - Hurricane season can be a very trying time for younger family members. By using experiments and easy-to-understand language, your youngsters can find some control over these scary situations.

To schedule a speaker, call Pinellas County’s Speakers Bureau at (727) 464-3000. Remember, knowledge is power. We can’t do anything about the weather, but by knowing what to do when bad weather threatens, you can gain control over your personal safety.

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What does THAT mean?

Satellite maps show cloud cover. Radar maps show where precipitation is falling. But what about those maps that show warm and cold fronts? Just what do those lines mean, and what do they mean for the weather? All weather fronts mark the boundary of air masses with different characteristics. Depending on the temperature, humidity and density of the air, you could have many different frontal types.

Warm Fronts - Indicated by a red line of half circles pointing in the direction of travel, these fronts usually move from south to north. A warm front’s passage can bring gentle rain as advancing warm air rises over the existing colder air. The skies will clear shortly afterward, and temperatures will rise as the front passes.

Cold Fronts - Indicated by a blue line of triangles pointing in the direction of travel, these fronts slice in from the north and west. The cold air rushes under the warmer air in place, sending the warm air quickly into the upper atmosphere. A cold front’s passage can bring violent weather and thunderstorms, with rapid clearing and much cooler weather in its wake.

Stationary Fronts - Sometimes two air masses collide, but neither is advancing with enough energy to replace the other. Stationary fronts can bring unsettled weather for a long time and, as you might imagine, are drawn with alternating red half-circles and blue spikes pointing in opposite directions, indicating no significant movement.

Occluded Fronts - If two air masses are traveling in the same direction, but the one behind is moving faster than the one up front, both air masses can combine, creating an occluded front. These hybrids are created near large storms that typically form north of Florida and are drawn as purple lines with alternating half circles and triangles.

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