What To Know About Hurricanes From The Perspective Of A Former Floridian

Hurricanes are no doubt a powerful natural phenomenon famously dealt with on the country's East Coast. The mere mention of the word is enough to get everyone to drop what they are doing and alertly monitor the news, even if they?re not located in any hurricane-prone regions. So if what?s the best tactic to take on when vacationing somewhere like Florida, which is both one of the most popular places to enjoy a beach vacation in the nation, and simultaneously has a reputation for dealing with one of nature's most destructive phenomena on an annual basis.

Having grown up in South Florida and experienced at least three instances of having been hit directly by a hurricane, I?m here to tell you that being prepared takes on a whole new meaning. Things like rolling up your hose and taking it inside because you will never see it again otherwise, bringing in all your lawn furniture, staking down your swing set, and closing the aluminum window shutters are all standard things our family did before a hurricane. When one would make landfall the power would inevitable go out and in certain cases the water would be cut off. None of the hurricanes from my childhood, seemed as strong as the ones in the last 10 years, although one took out a large tree in front of our house, while another dropped our neighbor's porch from down the street onto our back yard.

Sitting in a dark house listening to the constant howling of the wind with intermittent sounds similar to a car crash, I always wondered about the people on vacation nearby at the beach. Most beach houses in hurricane-prone areas are built on stilts or large cement pilings. Interestingly enough, areas such as Clearwater Beach, Indian Shores, Captiva, North Captiva, and Fort Myers Beach have had limited direct hits from a hurricane over the last 20 years.

The most memorable calamity during a hurricanes was the many hurricane parties that took place in areas that had mandatory evacuations at the beach. When there were critical injuries it tended to be a result of party goers not heeding warnings to leave the area. In some instances entire buildings were wiped out and dozens of party goers were injured or did not survive. During TV interviews many of the injured had no idea of just how bad the party had gotten until after the fact.

Today more people are prepared and with the advent of Hurricane Andrew in New Jersey people heed warnings.

The best advise when booking a beach house vacation is to get cancellation insurance. Some credit card companies offer this service. Be sure you read the fine print. If you are booking through a property management company or a reservation agency ask about what they offer. There are many different travel insurance companies that offer cancellation policies. Some even cover loss during your stay- they can cover a new car rental, airfare, and hotels in a different location if you were evacuated. Like with credit card companies, always make sure to read all the details before signing on to anything so that you can take full advantage of some of the best policies available. As long as you make sure you are prepared a hurricane, does not have to impact your vacation at the beach.