Hurricane Preparedness Week: Preparing your disaster supply kit

Hurricane Preparedness Week runs from May 9-15, this year and today is day three. The theme – disaster supplies.

Marie Springsteen of Cape Coral has a green Rubbermaid tote she starts packing up in January.

It’s filled with first aid supplies, ropes, tarps, medications, and supplies she and her husband need every day.

It also has important documents like life insurance, homeowners, and flood policies.

She’s a Girl Scout and lives by the theme be prepared. “Oh, I have a cert bag. After [Hurricane] Charlie, I went to a cert training course for eight weeks – that’s a certified emergency response team training.”

• Make sure your kit has enough food and water for each person in your home for at least three days.
• Have cash on hand in case ATMs are inaccessible or card machines are down.
• Refill your meds and prescriptions.
• A radio, batteries and phone chargers.

With so many people new to the area, Springsteen says this; “I plan early and review often. It’s something you need to do because every time you move, or every time a storm is coming, it’s going to be different than the next, so you have to be prepared.”

Something else to think about this year is to add hand sanitizer, disinfectant wipes, and some face masks for each person in your family in case you have to go to a shelter.