The winds are blowing, the streets are deserted. The hurricane is making landfall. If you waited until now to prepare, it's too late. You can't do much now except hunker down and wait.
Stay in your safe room
Stay indoors. Stay sober. Bring in your food, water, first-aid supplies. Be sure to have a mattress and a portable radio or television. Get everyone into a safe room before the storm hits.
Use flashlights, not candles. Cover yourself with the mattress in case debris starts flying. Make sure the electricity and gas are turned off.
Last resort refuge
If you are in a flood evacuation zone and did not leave when officials told you to, you still have a chance to survive.
Officials don't advertise this option because they want people to leave evacuation zones, but they have a recommendation for stragglers. It's called "last resort refuge," and it's just that -- a last resort. Don't plan this in advance.
Find a building with several stories. If you pick a high-rise, avoid the upper floors, where winds are strongest. Avoid the ground floor, where flooding will likely occur.
Locate a parking garage or interior room with no windows within the building. The second or third floor is best. In condominiums, hallways often are the safest locations. Protect yourself as best as possible. Take cover under a mattress if you can.
Beware of the eye
If the winds suddenly die down and everything goes calm, don't immediately go outside. The storm's eye may be passing. The most vicious part of the storm follows the passing of the eye.
Don't venture outside until government officials give the "all clear" signal through the media.
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