FEMA joins Home Depot Stores for Hurricane Preparedness Days

FRAMINGHAM, Mass.–With memories of the 2012 hurricane season and Hurricane Sandy’s October wrath still lingering, FEMA is partnering with Home Depot stores to promote hurricane preparedness to help homeowners be safe and reduce their property damage from the next storm.     

FEMA mitigation specialists and Home Depot associates will be at the Bellingham, Mass., Home Depot, 229 Hartford Avenue, from 9:00 a.m. till 6:00 p.m. this Saturday educating concerned homeowners on how to make their homes stronger and safer.      

Using a see-through, disaster avoidance model house, FEMA staff will demonstrate the use of hurricane straps and stronger building materials to prepare homes to better withstand the forces of a hurricane. 

Subject matter experts will also help customers create an emergency preparedness kit, choose the best generator for their needs, and identify the different types of alerts and wind speeds associated with hurricanes. 

Hurricane season begins on June 1 and runs through Nov. 30, but hurricanes have been known to pay no attention to dates. The 2005 season was the most active hurricane season on record with 28 named storms and 15 hurricanes. The last named storm in 2005, Zeta, formed on Dec. 29 before dissipating a week later in 2006.    

The National Weather Service has forecast an active hurricane season for 2013, and so far the season is proving them right. 

Tropical Storm Andrea made landfall in Florida barely six days into the hurricane season.  Right on her heels was Tropical Storm Barry that went ashore near Veracruz, Mexico.  Tropical Storm Chantal formed in early July and slammed the Caribbean for two days before losing her strength to wind shear.  This year’s fourth named storm, Tropical Storm Dorian, has already formed in the Eastern Atlantic and appears headed for the Caribbean.  It may be only a matter of time before Erin, Fernand, Gabrielle or one of the following storms tracks the paths of Irene and Sandy to New England.

More than 700 Home Depot stores along America’s coastlines will be participating in Hurricane Preparedness Days in their areas.  For more information on the Hurricane Workshops, go to https://myapron.homedepot.com or  email Ashley_townsend@homedepot.com.  

FEMA’s mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards.