Hurricane Lee is a timely participant in Emergency Preparedness Month

Published on: September 12, 2023

We’re now in the second week of Emergency Preparedness Month, and Hurricane Lee has arrived in the Atlantic Ocean to provide a useful bit of focus to our messaging. While there is still too much uncertainty in the forecast to make any statements about Lee’s potential impacts on our region, we hope the thought exercise alone will be enough to give our community a little enthusiasm for the preparedness move.

If we imagine – focus on imagineWhether Lee or another hurricane was on track to make major impacts in our area, here are the top five preparedness tasks we recommend for our Cape Cod communities:

Make a plan with your family

Make sure you know the answers to the following questions: Where are you going? How will you get there? What will you take? Will you shelter in place? If you decide to leave your home, do you know where you can get to the nearest regional shelter? Be sure to consider pets, seniors, or family members with accessibility and functional needs (AFN). Here are some useful resources:

Build an emergency kit

Again, consider elderly family members and/or neighbors with special needs (mobility needs, mental health challenges, hearing or vision impairment, oxygen requirements, language/communication limitations, etc.) as well as pets (not just dogs and cats – Think of a hamster.) And rabbits, fish, birds and other animals that need care either during your absence or when you take them with you).

Think about your medications

Have you recently renewed your prescriptions? Take a look and address anything that may be low. You should have at least two weeks’ supply of over-the-counter and prescription medications ready to use. What about items for special medical needs such as extra batteries for hearing aids, epinephrine auto-injectors, glasses, contact lenses, or syringes? These are all important considerations.

Stay informed, receive emergency alerts, and be wary of scammers!

Get emergency alerts and weather warnings with wireless emergency alerts, emergency alert system and other systems. Learn about the tools available to you!

• The following link includes several different ways to receive information during an emergency. Make sure to click on the list of different options. For example, did you know about the 2-1-1 hotline? You can call this number for information about open shelters, transportation, or vital health and human services programs. Be informed and receive emergency alerts Mass.gov
• If your power goes out, it’s important to report the outage to your utility provider (even if you’re sure your neighbors have already done so).
• Be on the lookout for scammers using weather emergencies to scam people! Read this article for more information: Dealing with Weather Emergencies | Consumer Advice (ftc.gov)

Know your flood risk!

Storms, flooding, and erosion can damage coastal properties and impact beaches, dunes, and valuable habitat. It is important to evaluate these threats and what you can do to protect your property and community.

Again, it is too early to know whether Lee will have any major impacts on our region. BCREPC is closely monitoring Lee’s path and will provide updates if and when necessary. In the meantime, we encourage the public to participate in “preparedness drills” of some kind, to be prepared for any weather emergencies or other hazards. Preparedness and flexibility go hand in hand!