New items to add to hurricane prep list

You‘ve seen the hurricane preparation checklists every year since forever. You know them by heart.
Except for the things you forgot or didn’t know.
Now would be a good time to tighten up your hurricane plan. The forecasts are for a couple of dozen named storms in 2024, maybe a dozen hurricanes and half a dozen major hurricanes in the Atlantic-Caribbean-Gulf area during the season that officially starts June 1.
You can find detailed tips for emergency planning from the state government at getagameplan.org. And here are some points you might not have heard about or thought about:
Honing the cone
In August, the National Weather Service will roll out a new version of the familiar hurricane tracking cone in addition to the traditional one.
The new, experimental version will be released shortly after the conventional version is released when a storm threatens land. The new version will “will add a depiction of tropical storm and hurricane watches and warnings over inland areas in the continental United States,” the National Weather Service website says.
Also, remember what the cone means. It’s a projection, not gospel. The cone represents the area where landfall can be expected two-thirds of the time.
What tor listen for
Local media will carry National Weather Service alerts. The NWS-Lake Charles Facebook page has begun posting periodic livestreams with information and a chance to ask questions in real time.
A hurricane watch means sustained winds of at least 74 mph are possible in a given area in as little as 48 hours. A hurricane warning means winds of at least 74 mph are expected in a given area in as little as 36 hours.
Getting out while
the getting’s good
Two factors have come together this year to warrant extra attention to the possibility of evacuation warnings.
U.S. 90, along with La. 70 and La. 182, is an important evacuation route. And if you’ve driven west on U.S. 90 toward Lafayette and beyond lately, you know what the problem might be: ongoing highway repairs.
On Monday, U.S. 90 was restricted to one lane in either direction for a six-mile stretch between Franklin and Sorrel. The highway remains limited to one lane either way on a three-mile stretch through New Iberia.
And as you approach the Ambassador Caffery Parkway interchange on westbound U.S. 90 in Lafayette Parish, you’ll weave through more highway work.
All of that threatens to create choke points if there’s a big evacuation.
Where would go? In 2021, the state “mega-shelter” at 8125 La. 71 South in Alexandria was opened to St. Mary residents as Hurricane Ida approached.
If a storm threatens, listen for shelter information in the event of an evacuation.
The other factor is a recently developing phenomenon: rapid intensification of tropical weather.
Authorities may be a bit quicker to call for evacuations this year.
Fresh air
One need that local disaster preparedness officials have discovered in recent years has been assistance for people on oxygen therapy, both in charging devices that require electrical power and in refilling oxygen bottles.
Check with your doctor or therapist for ways to keep oxygen therapy in operation, and listen for arrangements being made by local agencies to help those whose health requires oxygen.
Left to your
own devices
You can conserve battery life on your phone by turning off Wi-Fi, GPS and Bluetooth when you don’t need them.
If they’re on and no signal is available, your phone will keep looking for connections and drain your battery to do it.
Also, you can go to your phone’s data settings and turn off apps you don’t need, especially the ones that give you push notifications.
Pets
If you hit the road with your pet, you’ll need to carry food and water for the animal.
In the past, the state has opened a pet mega-shelter at Rapides Coliseum in Alexandria.