Blog Post
Hurricane Preparation for Disabled Community: Monitor and Have a Plan
David Schmit • Aug 21, 2020
Monitor and Have a Plan
AUGUST 21, 2020
NEW ORLEANS--2020 has been one helluva year and now we're looking at not one but two possible hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico. For people living with disabilities, hurricane season can seem challenging. But by staying up to date with the storm forecast and track, and having a sheltering in place plan and an evacuation plan, you will be prepared and that can relieve a lot of anxiety.
Monitoring the Storm
It's a good idea to know where the storm or disturbance is in the Gulf and to know the forecast. Anyone who has lived in the Gulf Coast generally has a favorite website, or newsite to monitor storms. Here are a few: Nola.com, WWLTV, Fox 8, Weather Underground, and Weather.com
Sheltering in Place Plan
If you don't have a shelter in place plan yet, now's the time to do it. An easy way to do this is visit the NOLA Ready Hurricane
page and scroll down to the section, "Shelter in Place." There you'll find a list of different things to consider and be prepared for such as a list of things you'll need, preparing for power and water outages and how to stay informed.
Additionally, please scroll up and look at the section, "Prepare for a Storm." Remember, each household should determine whether they want to shelter in place or evacuate.
Evacuation Plan
Again thanks to NOLA Ready, it's easy to learn about evacuation plans. Go to NOLA Ready Hurricane
page and scroll down to the section, "Evacuate." Remember, if the City orders a mandatory evacuation, all residents and visitors must leave.
In this section, you'll find info about what to take with you during an evacuation, how you're evacuating (i.e. by car, plane, bus or train) and to leave as early as possible. Additionally, there is added info regarding COVID prep.
What if you don't have a means of evacuating? The City of New Orleans can help you. From NOLA Ready
website: "If you can’t evacuate on your own during a mandatory evacuation, the City of New Orleans can help. City-assisted evacuation provides free transportation out of harm's way. Text EVACNOLA to 888777 if you might need to use City-Assisted Evacuation. The City of New Orleans will text you information if there is a mandatory evacuation." Text now and not later.
To find out more about the City-assisted evacuation plan, scroll down the NOLA Ready
website.
Like any New Orleanians, we want these storms to turn and move away from us, but if they don't, it's always better to have a plan!
Watch Split Second Foundation founder Mark Raymond Jr. in his appearance on The Jennifer Hudson Show this Tuesday, May 7th!
The last thing Mark Raymond Jr. remembers in those final seconds before the accident was standing in the back of his buddy’s boat at the end of a perfect July afternoon in 2016, and staring down into the waters of Louisiana’s Lake Pontchartrain. Then he dove in and instantly felt his forehead slam into the sandy bottom of the lake. “I couldn’t move and realized, 'I’m probably going to drown,’ " Raymond tells PEOPLE in this week's issue. “My last thoughts were about my mom and just praying that my friends would realize what was happening.” He was close to death when his pals pulled him out of the water and performed CPR. Two weeks later, Raymond awoke from a medically induced coma in a New Orleans hospital to discover that he’d fractured the fifth vertebrae in his neck and could no longer walk or fully use his hands. “I quickly learned that my life was going to be really different,” he says. “To call it a huge adjustment is an understatement.” Read more.
Split Second Fitness founder Mark Raymond Jr. talks about his organization which is the first gym focusing on individuals with a disabling condition and transforming individuals’ hope into action. Read more.
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