Hurricane Coming! Prepare Today, Not Tomorrow or Next Week.

If you are over 25 and a St. Martiner, you probably remember Hurricane Luis in 1995. A Cat 4 storm, Luis is representative of what you should prepare for today. In 1995, sixty percent of the houses on the island were damaged or destroyed, and nearly one-fourth of the houses were made uninhabitable. In Grand Case Bay, 95% of the houses were damaged or destroyed as a result of high waves and strong winds. Damage was common in other towns, such as Marigot and Phillipsburg, where nearly 80% of the city was devastated by the storm. It also caused the Great Salt Pond to deluge several streets, sending them under water. Of the 1,500 boats sheltered in Simpson Bay Lagoon, nearly 1,300 or 87% of them were sunk or run aground. The storm left 7,000 homeless and resulted in $1.8 billion in total damages (1995 US dollars). The death toll was never confirmed, but severe.

This year the water temperature is much higher than normal, which has prompted predictions of a much more severe hurricane season. St. Martin has grown since Hurricane Luis, and in addition to the new buildings, the population has increased significantly. Unfortunately, a disproportionate of the people who have come here since 1995 can least afford the cost of hurricane preparation.

For this reason, I call on the leaders and activists of St. Martin, including the Honorable Persons Aline CHOISY, Daniella JEFFRY, Sarah WESCOTT-WILLIAMS, Leopold JAMES, Don HUGHES, Billy D. HAMLET, Jeffrey RICHARDSON, Roddy HEYLIGER, and others to organize and provide support for those less fortunate St. Martiners who may not be capable (financially) to prepare for the hurricane impacts. I also urge the fine people who belong to the St. Martin Rotary Clubs and other civic-minded organizations to plan and prepare hurricane preparation kits for families throughout St. Martin. Make this your "Project of the Week"!

As Mr. HEYLIGER wrote in a Letter to the Editor published here this past January 17th, "Disaster preparedness is not only the business of disaster preparedness and management offices. It's everybody's business, an individual responsibility to protect yourself, your family and property. The better prepared every individual and family are, the better prepared we are as a nation." I could not agree more!

http://smn-news.com/component/content/article/85-st-maarten/4426-11-hurricane-shelters-for-2010-hurricane-season.html.

In addition, I recommend readers print out this letter and this article of June 20th and share them with your neighbours, friends and family.

I have gone through at least ten major hurricanes. I have also flown to the sites of major hurricanes to offer my professional assistance (all at my own expense). From my experience, I can offer my insights. Most deaths from hurricanes are from drowning. Most other deaths are the result of loss of blood, shock, traumatic injuries, and dehydration. All of these deaths can be prevented with proper planning. That planning should start today, not tomorrow and not next week. There is no excuse for telling your family the store is sold out of an essential item, or it will take too long to order. By the time a tropical storm has formed, it is too late.

Medical

Anyone who takes prescription medications on a daily basis should have a one month supply of those medications. Many medications are not meant to be abruptly stopped, and there are negative adverse consequences when you suddenly stop taking a "maintenance medication". Check with your doctor. Ask him for a special authority to receive an extra month of medications in the event of an emergency such as a hurricane where you will be unable to receive these medications as you normally would. You should also discuss with him what he/she recommends is your daily requirement of water given your medical condition and foods you should avoid in emergency conditions. You will have to make decisions on what food to keep when there is no refrigeration available and all you have is kept in a box. Nutrition is extremely important, and we are all unique individuals.

Keep a copy of your medical records, including your prescriptions, blood type, known allergies (e.g. penicillin), and existing conditions in a water-tight freezer bag and put that in your "essential bag". Make an inventory of your possessions, including model number and serial number. If you have insurance and it covers hurricanes, consider taking photographs!

Everyone should know basic first aid and the first steps to take: clear the airway, stop the bleeding, and prevent shock. Hurricanes cause objects to fly through the air at incredible speeds. These objects cause blunt force trauma when they hit the human body. They also cut your skin. Buy and store in water-tight freezer bags a supply of bandages, alcohol, elastic bandages, and tapes, including duct tape. Every person should be able to clean and cover cuts to the skin. You should also be able to apply bandages with sufficient pressure to stop the bleeding. If possible, get "butterfly Band-Aids" ahead of time – they are great for closing open wounds. Clotting agents are also a new and important addition to every first aid kit. To prevent shock: "If pale, raise the tail; if red, raise the head."

Essential Bag

Often referred to as a "Go Kit", this can be as small as a tote bag or brief case. If possible, it should be waterproof. This should contain ONLY those items which really are essential.

Think of those items you want to survive if your home burned down. Photographs that cannot be replaced, legal papers, identification papers, and medical records are examples. With more homes being built on the side of mountains in St. Martin, the possibility that 6 inches of rain could cause mud slides is increased significantly. You do not have to live on the side of the mountain to be affected – the mud covers homes where it lands. As in the case with Hurricane Luis in Grande Case, water surges can wash ashore with such pressure as to completely destroy and wash out to sea entire homes and businesses. Your essential bag should contain those items you feel you must have if your entire home is destroyed. Consider if the roads are destroyed and fires break out, your home could burn down. Don't think about only the actual hurricane, but the weeks and possibly months that will follow major destruction. All items should go into water-tight gallon (or larger) freezer bags!

Disaster Bag

I am fortunate in that I can afford a hard suitcase that is waterproof. If not, I would buy a hard suitcase and place all my items in "space bags" (designed as both waterproof and air tight where you can suck the air out of the bag and its contents) or waterproof gallon size heavy duty freezer bags found at Grande Marche and Match supermarkets. In my disaster bag I keep 7 days of underwear and socks, shirts, shorts, jeans, work boots, shaving kit, flashlights, first aid kit, food supplies, and other non-essential items. When a hurricane strikes and the call goes out for volunteer medical professionals, I take only my disaster bag. Limit: one suitcase and one personal bag. Total weight cannot exceed 50 pounds.

Coordination

As good Christians, we are taught to look after and care for everyone, not just ourselves. You should hold meetings with your neighbours to coordinate preparation and what everyone will do when a major hurricane will arrive. Know where all the local shelters are and know who plans to stay home and who plans to go to the shelters. If the roads are destroyed, it may be longer than a month before people are able to return to the site of their homes. If you go to a shelter and know someone remained in their home, and you learn the homes were destroyed, you are in a better position to provide credible information on the probable whereabouts of your neighbours.

You should get contact information and provide contact information of family members to be notified in the event of serious injuries or death. Often only family members are in a position to offer life-saving organs after traumatic injuries, and everyone should know how to contact these family members. It goes without saying that this information is also vital in the event of deaths.

I highly recommend gas grills, generators, highly absorbent cloths, blood clotting bandages and other items generally not affordable by non-affluent St. Martiners. However, by pooling resources and planning, you can buy these items for communal use. Propane comes in small canisters and the gas grills that use them are not very expensive. Generators come in smaller sizes and can offer the benefits of electricity, even for very limited times (but remember you will need to store gasoline to run them – safely). Highly absorbent cloths are now available on the Internet and are not the expensive. They are very light weight, but also extremely effective in removing water from the inside of your home. Made by HemCon Medical Technologies, KytoStat is a convenient, effective first response to control persistent bleeding. In some cases, KytoStat may be the only first aid needed. They are available on the Internet for use by the public. Other items everyone should have include a 50 foot nylon cord (great for a clothes line), duct tape, folding shovel (to bury the toilet paper), plenty of toilet paper in water-proof bags, work gloves for debris removal, emergency whistle, multi-function knife, plenty of cigarette lighters, water purification tablets, a month of pet food, thermal blankets, 2 gallon water bags to fill when water trucks arrive, vinyl gloves (for first aid and dish washing), portable AM/FM radio, plenty of batteries, CD player and CD's (great for psychological needs), two flashlights per person, and water – at least one gallon per person per day (twice that if the temperature is hot). The safest and most reliable emergency supply of water is commercially bottled water. Keep bottled water in its original container and do not open it until you need to use it. I recommend the largest water containers available at Grand Marche and Match.

Groups such as the Rotary can also raise money for these items and coordinate distribution before the hurricane arrives. If your local group recognizes you cannot share the cost, please be proactive and approach civic groups and/or the government.

Additional Reading

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/HAW2/english/prepare/supply_kit.shtml

http://www.fema.gov/plan/index.shtm

http://www.hurricane.com/hurricane-preparation.php

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/weather/hurricane/sfl-hc-beforeprep,0,6908278.storygallery

http://firstaid.about.com/od/emergencypreparation/bb/06_hurricane.htm

As the saying goes, plan for the worst and pray for the best.

Best of luck to every reader, your family, friends and neighbours.

Dr. Claude Bordelon, M.D.