As this year’s Atlantic hurricane season begins, now is the time to update your disaster supplies kit! You may need to survive on your own for some time after a tropical storm or hurricane makes landfall in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Virgin Islands Territorial Emergency Management Agency (VITEMA) advises the following:
Your family will most likely need food, water and other emergency supplies to last for several days, even up to two weeks after a storm or other disaster. Do not wait for a storm to be here before you review the basic items your household may need for an emergency.
Roads might be impassable, gas stations and grocery stores closed, power off and communications uncertain for several days after a storm makes landfall. Building your household’s emergency supply kit before the peak of the Atlantic hurricane season will help avoid panic and making the wrong decisions on what to include in your kit.
Start building a kit with items you may already have in your home, such as a flashlight, extra batteries, water and nonperishable food. When you go to the grocery store, pick up a few extra items that you use regularly. Then consider what unique needs your family might have, such as young children, elderly, household members with disabilities, access or functional needs and supplies for pets.
Replace expired items in your kit as needed and review what basic items you have at home, such as one gallon of water per person per day for several days, for drinking and sanitation, as well as at least a several-day supply of nonperishable food.
Talk to a doctor or pharmacist about how to create an emergency supply of medicines. Keep a list of your prescriptions. Include information about your diagnosis, dosage, frequency, medical supply needs and allergies.
For more information about what to stock in an emergency kit and how to maintain it, visit www.ready.gov or VITEMA’s website at www.vitema.vi.gov.
