Hurricane Season in the Islands. Get Ready!

The 2011 hurricane season officially starts June 1 and we island people are taking stock!
With four of the projected 15 named storms and eight hurricanes expected to strengthen to major ‘canes of Category 3 or higher, it's time to pull out the old “To Do” list to avoid a last minute scramble, should it become necessary.
On a positive note, Bahamas homes are typically well built – and that's no exaggeration. Our building code is strict and most homes were built by tried and true conventional methods. In fact, after Hurricane Andrew pounded a couple of islands in the Bahamas and devastated Homestead, Florida, in 1992, it was noted that Bahamas homes stood up to the force of nature much better. The South Florida Building Code was amended to adopt the best features of Bahamas code.
When we added a master bedroom to our solidly constructed old Bahamian home, for instance, we made sure the contractor installed hurricane straps at every wall-to-rafter connection to reinforce the roof in accordance with the old practice of making Bahamas homes hurricane safe.
Now, while we may have a good measure of comfort, hurricanes need to be taken seriously. Those homes most at risk obviously are low lying and coastal. Coastal residents should have a plan to evacuate and boat owners need to know how they're going to deal with their boats in advance.
The larger boats need to be secured in safe anchorage and run-abouts that can't be put in a hurricane safe shelter need to be hauled. Make plans well in advance because dry dock space is limited and you don't – I repeat, you don't – want to leave your boat tied to an open dock.
If you don't have one, a generator is a fantastic investment. And please, let a professional install and take care of repairs. If you don't know what you're doing, you can have a serious, even fatal, accident.
Hurricanes are a lot of work. You need to provision up and secure any object (patio furniture, potted plants and so on) that can turn into missiles. Trim coconuts from the trees (flying cannon balls) and so on.
It's especially important to have enough drinking water on hand, as well as water for flushing toilets and cleaning up. The water supply may be cut off. That's why we're told to fill bathtubs and containers.
After all the hard work, we island people like to throw a little hurricane party. We get the food going – conch fritters, curries and all manner of comfort food – and get ready for the blow, careful to be safe in our homes before the winds hit gale force.