Stormy weather is a reminder to stay prepared

Recent rainy weather served as a reminder about being prepared for whatever may come.
This past week’s winds and rains and Monday’s threat of tornados reminded us that any disaster can happen to any family, home or business at any time.
A fire can take everything or nearly everything. A tornado can throw a tree into a roof or a hurricane’s winds and water can devastate an area, interrupting essential services. Preparedness is the key to recovering well from such disasters.

Though by today our possibility for bad weather in the immediate may have passed, this week is the anniversary of the April 2007 freeze that freakishly visited the area, devastating local flowers, plants, bushes and trees. Some plants never recovered from the freeze.
That cold snap caused at least $98 million in damage to North Carolina’s fruit and nut crops.

While it may be too late to throw the blanket over the blooming azaleas and thriving ferns, it’s not too early to check the cabinets for supplies, should a disaster of another type visit.
Visit the state’s Emergency Management Division Web site, at www. scemd.org, to learn what is needed for a family emergency kit and disaster plan. By taking a little time to prepare and to assemble an emergency kit (An ounce of prevention), a terrible situation becomes a little more endurable (is worth a pound of cure.).
Gathering water in plastic containers, maintaining at least a three-day supply of non-perishable foods that require no refrigeration and little preparation or cooking, keeping a well-stocked first aid kit, stocking batteries and candles and lighters and having various tools and supplies on hand can ease minds when the next storm strikes.
It’s the little precaution before a crisis (One stitch in time) that is preferable to a lot of fixing up afterward (saves nine.).