People are mentally and physically exhausted from the continuous hazardous weather reports. Whether it’s a storm, hurricane or flood, the emergency alerts on the iPhone seem never-ending.
University of Florida students fear these storms will affect their exam schedules, travel plans or worse- UF football season. Although these worries are irritating, it is important to remember that these inconveniences are minimal. It is time to wake up from this storm fatigue and start taking precautions.
Past storms such as Hurricane Irma and Hurricane Maria strongly hit areas in Puerto Rico, Florida Keys, and Miami. These areas are still facing irreparable damage. In order to get ready for strong storms like these, the Department of Emergency Management at UF encourages hurricane preparedness.
Kenneth Allen, the emergency management director for the UF Division of Public Safety, encourages each person to take safety measures for future hazardous weather storms, rather than sit and wait for the next storm to hit.
“The Department of Emergency Management promotes continual preparedness, not only for hurricanes but from an all-hazards perspective,” Allen said. “Each person is encouraged to have a plan, get a kit and be informed.”
Allen suggests creating a standard disaster supply kit that includes water, food, batteries, flashlights, a first-aid kit, special needs items and toiletries.
Dominique Ketsoglou, a senior Biology major, did not prepare for Hurricane Irma and regrets it.
“My mom wanted me to go home to New York, but I brushed it off thinking Hurricane Irma was no big deal,” Ketsoglou said. “My apartment lost power and I didn't take appropriate measures.”
Some individuals experienced more than just power loss from past hurricanes. Renée Buchholtz, a freshman Marketing major, suffered greatly from Hurricane Maria.
“All my family down in Puerto Rico has been affected in one way or another,” Buchholtz said. “The least of it was the flooding in my stepdad’s apartment on the 18th floor.”
Unfortunately, Hurricane Maria tore apart Buchholtz’s family beach house in Dorado, Puerto Rico as well.
“Our house in Dorado had glass shattered all over the floor, furniture flipped all over the place, water everywhere and artwork that we had collected over many years torn up,” Buccholtz said.
Buccholtz, Ketsoglou and other UF students alike, are drained from these hurricane experiences. However, now is the time to take action and stay alert for future storms.
These hurricanes, along with other weather storms, will likely be back again next year.
“UF has a long and rich hurricane history since its founding, which is a reason preparedness is stressed by our department,” Allen said.
