I want to prepare our members who have signed on with our disaster mitigation company, Velocity Services, to let you know that I have been in contact with Rick from Velocity. His company has responded to and are in the middle of mitigating several areas of impact from Hurricane Helene on our West Coast and as far north as North Carolina.
As you may or may not know, there is activity in the Gulf right now, increasing in intensity, and may well develop into a category 2 – 4 hurricane before it hits the West Coast of Florida. The models currently reflect an easterly route hitting somewhere near Sarasota and going due east through Palm Beach County.
Since the hurricane is expected to be moving across the state or even if it moves northeast or north, the winds are expected to be strong enough and wide enough that Palm Beach County is going to be affected, regardless of the direction of the hurricane. If there is a high level of winds across the state, then the access to Palm Beach County from the West Coast may be impacted by downed power lines and trees across the roads, which will inhibit Velocity’s ability to get here quickly. That’s not to say they won’t be able to get here, but it is a possibility.
Rick suggested that we closely monitor the situation every day and if things look like they’re going to escalate into a hurricane, you might want to protect yourself from any delays in Velocity’s arrival by buying a few tarps to cover the roofs. If you do decide to take this extra precaution, he recommends different sizes of tarps to cover different areas of damage to the roofs. To attach the tarps, he recommends using 1X 2 strips of wood, 2 foot sections, spaced far enough apart that the tarps won’t come off. Use roofing nails that are from 2 1/2 inches to 3 inches with flat heads to secure the strips of word and tarps to the roof.
Again, this is just if you feel the need have these items should Velocity incur any delays in getting here.
Also, pull out your Property Extreme Weather Preparedness Plan, your Homeowners & Building Extreme Weather Preparation Plan and most importantly The Velocity Pre-Catastrophe Rapid Response Questionnaire. Review all of these documents to make sure you are well prepared just in case. Be sure to complete the questionnaire, make sure it is signed and you can email it back to me. I will be the primary POC (Point of Contact). I’ll make sure he gets all of the questionnaires back.
Situational Awareness – that is the name of the game! Stay tuned to the weather channel and monitor your situation regularly. I’ll have updates for you as they come in from Velocity Services.
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