Hurricane preparedness: 5 things you can do to keep safe

If you live on the East Coast, here's what you can do to protect your home and your loved ones.

4. Make a simple but thoughtful plan

Ron Nickel/Design Pics/Newscom

A family disaster plan will keep you organized; the last thing you want is for a moment’s panic to ruin all your careful preparation.

The National Hurricane Center has a checklist that can serve as a template. Things to do are discuss "vulnerability to storm surge, flooding and wind," decide about the evacuation of any pets, and determine escape routes "measured in tens of miles rather than hundreds of miles." In addition to uniting your family under a single mode of operation, a well-constructed disaster plan should incorporate other families and friends nearby: will you maintain communication with them, and can you work together if need be?

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