Thread: Florida preparedness and discounts

The National Weather Service has declared the week of may 20th
through may 26th as hurricane preparedness week. Each day this work
week... your National Weather Service office in Ruskin Florida... will
issue a brief statement highlighting the most important hurricane
hazards... as well as important preparedness information and actions
to take when watches or warnings are issued.

To better instill a culture of preparedness in Florida... governor
crist has declared the period from June 1st through June 12th as a
sales tax "holiday" on specific hurricane preparedness items. These
items include batteries... portable radios... flashlights...
tarpaulins... coolers... some shutter supplies... and small generators.
For more information... go to the following website:

Http://www.Floridadisaster.Org/documents/tipholiday.Pdf

Thanks, Sue.
I am gonna be ready to do a little spending come June 1.

For one thing, I need to replace my NOAA Weather Radio.

Hope all our CLF friends have one of these - even those NOT in hurricane country. They are real life-savers!

Weather Radio Purchase Guide - NOAA Public and Emergency Alert

They can be bought for as little as $39.95, just be sure they also take batteries or are hand crank in case of power outages!!

Here is the list of items Floridians can purchase tax free from June 1 -12, 2007:

• Flashlights, self powered light sourcess: $20 or less
• Weather radios, two-way radios, and Portable radios: $75 or less
• Tarps: $50 or less
• Gas cans: $25 or less
• Batteries: $30 or less
• Non-electrical food storage coolers: $30 or less
• Carbon Monoxide detectors: $75 or less
• Cell phone chargers: $60 or less
• Storm Shutter Devices: $200 or less
• Portable Generators: $1,000 or less

We are going to replenish our supply of batteries today.
Also, look for a NOAA Weather alert radio, as our old one is toast, apparently.

TALLAHASSEE — Florida this year is facing the same climatic conditions that led in 2004-05 to a series of eight hurricanes, which hit or affected the state, a weather expert told state officials Thursday.

State Meteorologist Ben Nelson outlined that scenario for Lt. Gov. Jeff Kottkamp and other members of Gov. Charlie Crist's administration during a briefing on hurricane preparedness for the current season, which began last week.

"We feel very confident that here in Tallahassee at the Capitol we're ready, that our partners back in the counties are ready, and now we just have to make sure the citizens of Florida are ready, too," Kottkamp said.

Warm El Nino currents in the Pacific Ocean that kept last season quiet are not present this year, but Atlantic and Caribbean waters are warmer and that could mean more and stronger storms, Nelson told officials attending the briefing.

The biggest unknown, though, is where steering currents will form off the East Coast, he said. The closer they are to the coast, the worse for Florida.

Nelson said the greatest fear is Miami's vulnerability. Damages could top $150 billion from a direct hit, he said. That's nearly twice as much as the $80 billion estimate for Hurricane Katrina, the nation's most costly storm, according to National Hurricane Center figures.

Officials also discussed similarities in potential vulnerability between New Orleans, which was inundated by Katrina two years ago, and the Tampa Bay area.

"The major difference is our level of response," Kottkamp said. "We're going to respond very quickly and we're going to make sure that everything that can be done from the state down to the counties will be done."