With September being National Preparedness Month, on Wednesday, state Attorney General Ashley Moody urged Floridians to remain vigilant and reevaluate preparedness plans should disaster strike.
The peak of hurricane season occurs between mid-August and late October. As Floridians enter the second half of hurricane season, Moody highlighted the 2021 Hurricane Preparedness Guide for Floridians to prepare their homes and families against potential disaster.
“2020 was a record-breaking hurricane season with 30 named storms and 11 land strikes. As we continue to recognize National Preparedness Month and peak hurricane season, I urge all Floridians to make preparations now, to keep their loved ones and property safe—should a storm strike where you live,” Moody said.
The theme of this year’s National Preparedness Month is: Prepare to Protect. Preparing for disasters is protecting everyone you love. To help Floridians protect their families and homes, Moody is issuing the following hurricane preparedness tips:
- Have at least a three-day supply of food, water and other emergency supplies stored in your house;
- Research storm-related products to verify they are hurricane-proof or impact-proof before purchasing;
- Create a plan with evacuation routes, shelter locations and specialized plans if a family has young children;
- After the storm, be wary of scammers offering extremely low prices for repairs or demanding considerable sums of upfront payments; and
- Make sure that potential charitable donations are going to a real cause, as it is common for charity scams to crop up during times of disaster.
- After a storm, recovery can be a grueling process that scammers may attempt to exploit.
During the hurricane season, price gouging is one of the most common consumer complaints. Price gouging is when essential commodities are sold for an amount that grossly exceeds the average price for that commodity during a declared state of emergency.
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