WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.060 Welcome back to the Light Keepers podcast, an 00:00:03.060 --> 00:00:05.219 exclusive production of A Guiding Light, our 00:00:05.219 --> 00:00:08.220 non -profit charity dedicated to the idea that 00:00:08.220 --> 00:00:10.939 knowledge is power and good information leads 00:00:10.939 --> 00:00:14.179 to a better life. I'm Clayton Vandiver, your 00:00:14.179 --> 00:00:17.600 Light Keeper, with my co -host as always, Charlene, 00:00:17.600 --> 00:00:19.980 our licensed clinical social worker who is certified 00:00:19.980 --> 00:00:23.519 in the state of Florida. And this show is dedicated 00:00:23.519 --> 00:00:26.079 to everyone who wants to get the most quality 00:00:26.079 --> 00:00:29.539 out of life that they can. Join us for the conversation 00:00:29.539 --> 00:00:32.759 this week about hurricane preparedness and so 00:00:32.759 --> 00:00:36.020 much more on this edition of the Light Keepers 00:00:36.020 --> 00:01:04.180 podcast. Please leave your questions or comments 00:01:04.180 --> 00:01:07.560 below and join our conversation. We'll also have 00:01:07.560 --> 00:01:11.239 some links below with specific locations to go 00:01:11.239 --> 00:01:13.879 to for some of the things we talk about today. 00:01:14.340 --> 00:01:16.739 Questions are answered during our next show online 00:01:16.739 --> 00:01:19.420 each Wednesday evening at 7 p .m. Eastern. The 00:01:19.420 --> 00:01:22.000 Light Keepers podcast is an exclusive production 00:01:22.000 --> 00:01:26.219 of A Guiding Light Incorporated. And another 00:01:26.219 --> 00:01:29.719 document that we have. This first one, as I said, 00:01:29.739 --> 00:01:33.530 was from the Florida. Department of Emergency 00:01:33.530 --> 00:01:38.109 Management. The second one I have here is from 00:01:38.109 --> 00:01:40.230 the National Weather Service, Hurricane Safety 00:01:40.230 --> 00:01:42.489 for You and Your Family. Again, I'm providing 00:01:42.489 --> 00:01:45.370 links below this to all of these documents. They're 00:01:45.370 --> 00:01:48.650 downloadable. And they have information on before 00:01:48.650 --> 00:01:52.689 a hurricane, during a hurricane, after a hurricane, 00:01:52.909 --> 00:01:55.090 if you're not ordered to evacuate, if you are 00:01:55.090 --> 00:01:58.969 ordered to evacuate. It just basically gives 00:01:58.969 --> 00:02:02.430 you information that you're going to need to 00:02:02.430 --> 00:02:05.390 be able to follow and stay safe. And that's the 00:02:05.390 --> 00:02:07.890 whole idea is to keep you and your family safe. 00:02:08.090 --> 00:02:10.449 And the more planning and preparation that you 00:02:10.449 --> 00:02:13.889 do ahead of time, the less of a panic it is, 00:02:13.990 --> 00:02:16.729 the less of a concern it is, because you already 00:02:16.729 --> 00:02:19.729 know, well, if it gets to this point, if it gets 00:02:19.729 --> 00:02:23.030 to this close proximity to our house, we have 00:02:23.030 --> 00:02:26.349 the house prepared, it's battened down. And we 00:02:26.349 --> 00:02:28.870 know that we have a full tank of gas in our vehicles. 00:02:29.210 --> 00:02:32.110 We have carriers for our pets, all the supplies 00:02:32.110 --> 00:02:35.669 that we need for us and our animals. And we can 00:02:35.669 --> 00:02:38.409 get out of here for a while. Yeah. And one thing 00:02:38.409 --> 00:02:43.590 that I would also encourage is if you have a 00:02:43.590 --> 00:02:46.710 pet that can be microchipped. Yes. I know some 00:02:46.710 --> 00:02:52.800 people don't support that. It's important. that 00:02:52.800 --> 00:02:55.620 microchip can be the difference between you getting 00:02:55.620 --> 00:02:58.659 your pet back and not if you get separated. The 00:02:58.659 --> 00:03:01.520 other thing, too, a lot of people get their pets 00:03:01.520 --> 00:03:04.099 microchipped, and then they don't register a 00:03:04.099 --> 00:03:08.580 phone number with it. And that kind of defeats 00:03:08.580 --> 00:03:14.120 the purpose. So if you are preparing for an emergency, 00:03:14.379 --> 00:03:17.680 it's always a good idea to contact your pet's 00:03:17.680 --> 00:03:22.319 veterinarian and find out. who the chip is licensed 00:03:22.319 --> 00:03:24.340 through and make sure that your information is 00:03:24.340 --> 00:03:27.139 up to date with them. Absolutely. And one of 00:03:27.139 --> 00:03:28.979 the other things that's most common, especially 00:03:28.979 --> 00:03:31.500 here in the state of Florida, especially among 00:03:31.500 --> 00:03:34.039 folks who are just moving into the state and 00:03:34.039 --> 00:03:37.439 they're doing that all the time. And for folks 00:03:37.439 --> 00:03:39.759 who have lived through a few near misses where 00:03:39.759 --> 00:03:42.319 the storm came close enough to give you a little 00:03:42.319 --> 00:03:46.479 bit of wind, a little bit of a high tide, maybe 00:03:46.479 --> 00:03:49.759 a touch of flooding and some rain. But it wasn't 00:03:49.759 --> 00:03:52.139 that big a deal. You've seen worse storms during 00:03:52.139 --> 00:03:54.979 the summer months. In fact, we had a really bad 00:03:54.979 --> 00:03:58.680 storm just a few days ago. It was just a storm, 00:03:58.759 --> 00:04:01.039 just moved through, but we had 70 -mile -an -hour 00:04:01.039 --> 00:04:04.840 winds right here. And that's borderline hurricane. 00:04:05.400 --> 00:04:08.300 So it can happen any time. We get a little bit 00:04:08.300 --> 00:04:10.280 complacent in the state of Florida, and that, 00:04:10.360 --> 00:04:13.560 I think, is the biggest danger that any hurricane 00:04:13.560 --> 00:04:18.670 provides is the complacency. If it's going to 00:04:18.670 --> 00:04:21.569 get close enough to you that emergency management 00:04:21.569 --> 00:04:26.310 personnel tell you, get out, then you need to 00:04:26.310 --> 00:04:29.129 get out. And you need to already be prepared 00:04:29.129 --> 00:04:31.250 with everything you're going to be needing, not 00:04:31.250 --> 00:04:33.290 waiting until the last minute because those stores 00:04:33.290 --> 00:04:34.949 are not going to have it or they're going to 00:04:34.949 --> 00:04:38.310 be closed. And those gas stations will not have 00:04:38.310 --> 00:04:40.490 that fuel or they're not going to have electricity 00:04:40.490 --> 00:04:44.189 to provide it. And you need to get out when they 00:04:44.189 --> 00:04:48.529 say get out. err on the side of safety because 00:04:48.529 --> 00:04:54.370 your family, your pets, all of you need to stay 00:04:54.370 --> 00:04:57.389 safe in a storm. I've lived through hurricanes 00:04:57.389 --> 00:04:59.970 in the state of Florida all the way back to Dora 00:04:59.970 --> 00:05:04.689 in 1964 when I was a very young child, and I 00:05:04.689 --> 00:05:07.209 will never forget how much of an adventure that 00:05:07.209 --> 00:05:13.589 was in a roughly 60, 70 -year -old... two -and 00:05:13.589 --> 00:05:16.370 -a -half -story all -wood creaking structure 00:05:16.370 --> 00:05:18.910 that was built around the turn of the century, 00:05:19.149 --> 00:05:24.490 about 1900. And it was leaking a lot by the time 00:05:24.490 --> 00:05:27.949 that hurricane got past us. There was between 00:05:27.949 --> 00:05:31.209 8 and 10 feet of water standing in front of my 00:05:31.209 --> 00:05:35.170 house. And the house had a slope. It had a high 00:05:35.170 --> 00:05:39.290 stair area coming up to the porch. And the water 00:05:39.290 --> 00:05:41.620 did not come up to the porch. But I've lived 00:05:41.620 --> 00:05:44.000 through that one, and most of them since then, 00:05:44.100 --> 00:05:46.079 except for the 10 years I was in Los Angeles 00:05:46.079 --> 00:05:49.060 when I experienced a lot of shaky situations, 00:05:49.339 --> 00:05:51.319 I'll tell you about another time. But, you know, 00:05:51.360 --> 00:05:54.779 another thing, too, is a lot of times when we're 00:05:54.779 --> 00:05:58.560 trying to prep for these emergencies, some people 00:05:58.560 --> 00:06:00.819 might be concerned. They may not have the resources 00:06:00.819 --> 00:06:04.079 available. They may not be able to afford a lot 00:06:04.079 --> 00:06:05.720 of these prep materials. Or they may not be able 00:06:05.720 --> 00:06:08.899 to move. They may not be able to leave on their 00:06:08.899 --> 00:06:11.259 own. They may not even have a vehicle. So what 00:06:11.259 --> 00:06:13.699 I would recommend in that situation is if you 00:06:13.699 --> 00:06:15.939 are someone that needs to prepare for an emergency 00:06:15.939 --> 00:06:18.740 and you don't have the resources that you need 00:06:18.740 --> 00:06:22.610 to be able to do that, you can always reach out 00:06:22.610 --> 00:06:28.050 to your community services to help. So, for example, 00:06:28.189 --> 00:06:32.009 if you can't afford the food, reach out to your 00:06:32.009 --> 00:06:34.750 local food banks. Reach out to your local churches 00:06:34.750 --> 00:06:38.649 that have those food banks. If you can't afford 00:06:38.649 --> 00:06:41.430 the pet supplies for your pet, reach out to your 00:06:41.430 --> 00:06:44.050 local humane societies. What a lot of people 00:06:44.050 --> 00:06:47.709 don't realize is that there are Companies like, 00:06:47.769 --> 00:06:49.889 I know Purina used to, I don't know if they still 00:06:49.889 --> 00:06:53.310 do, but they would donate food to humane societies 00:06:53.310 --> 00:06:57.350 to use, to give out during emergencies for people 00:06:57.350 --> 00:07:00.069 that can't afford food for their animals. So 00:07:00.069 --> 00:07:03.009 there are resources in the community. You just 00:07:03.009 --> 00:07:05.389 have to be willing to reach out and ask for help. 00:07:05.629 --> 00:07:08.009 That's absolutely right. Your own community's 00:07:08.009 --> 00:07:11.209 emergency management or your county's emergency 00:07:11.209 --> 00:07:16.310 management. division is going to have all that 00:07:16.310 --> 00:07:18.569 information for you they'll be able to help and 00:07:18.569 --> 00:07:21.550 some monitor the local broadcast outlets because 00:07:21.550 --> 00:07:24.129 they'll tell you the best things to do in your 00:07:24.129 --> 00:07:26.709 area and when to do them and you can trust them 00:07:26.709 --> 00:07:30.870 and some places like for example the state of 00:07:30.870 --> 00:07:36.509 florida has a sales tax holiday for hurricane 00:07:36.509 --> 00:07:41.089 prep items. Check into your state, your local 00:07:41.089 --> 00:07:44.589 area, see if there are any special circumstances 00:07:44.589 --> 00:07:47.470 going on that might make those things more affordable. 00:07:47.870 --> 00:07:50.110 Because, you know, the state of Florida may kind 00:07:50.110 --> 00:07:53.329 of be out there. As a peninsula, we experience 00:07:53.329 --> 00:07:56.290 a lot of weather. If it's in the Atlantic Ocean, 00:07:56.470 --> 00:07:58.910 chances are it's going to get kind of close to 00:07:58.910 --> 00:08:02.779 us or it might come right through us. Up the 00:08:02.779 --> 00:08:06.379 coast of Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, 00:08:06.500 --> 00:08:09.579 Virginia, right on up to New York City, you can 00:08:09.579 --> 00:08:12.120 get a lot of effects from these storms. And they 00:08:12.120 --> 00:08:15.439 certainly get into the Gulf of Mexico and Alabama, 00:08:15.879 --> 00:08:19.399 Mississippi, Louisiana. But you saw a lot of 00:08:19.399 --> 00:08:25.269 things after Katrina in the Mississippi. And 00:08:25.269 --> 00:08:27.889 Louisiana, all of those areas. Hattiesburg. We 00:08:27.889 --> 00:08:32.009 went into Hattiesburg to help the HSUS with the 00:08:32.009 --> 00:08:35.009 animals that they had rescued. And it was horrible. 00:08:35.129 --> 00:08:38.289 There were horses that they had rescued that 00:08:38.289 --> 00:08:41.110 had hoof rot because they'd been standing in 00:08:41.110 --> 00:08:45.149 two feet of water for a week. And nowhere to 00:08:45.149 --> 00:08:47.009 go and no one to help them. Nowhere to go and 00:08:47.009 --> 00:08:51.169 no way to get out of the water. Dogs that were... 00:08:51.360 --> 00:08:54.519 you know, rescued from drowning because they 00:08:54.519 --> 00:08:57.340 had either been locked in a house that had flooded 00:08:57.340 --> 00:09:00.460 with no one else in the home or they had been 00:09:00.460 --> 00:09:04.799 left chained to a tree. Horrible circumstances, 00:09:05.019 --> 00:09:07.720 horrible circumstances that with a little bit 00:09:07.720 --> 00:09:11.720 of pre -planning could have been avoided. So 00:09:11.720 --> 00:09:16.320 all of these states in the southeast have the 00:09:16.320 --> 00:09:19.120 ability to experience really horrific weather. 00:09:19.690 --> 00:09:22.289 And it is really bad. And the aftermath without 00:09:22.289 --> 00:09:25.350 the electricity and without the resources is 00:09:25.350 --> 00:09:28.669 just as bad. And it's not just for a few hours. 00:09:29.110 --> 00:09:34.610 It's days. Sometimes it's weeks. Sometimes it 00:09:34.610 --> 00:09:37.990 relocates an entire city and it's forever because 00:09:37.990 --> 00:09:40.929 they just can't come back and realistically rebuild 00:09:40.929 --> 00:09:43.289 and start over where they were. Well, and what 00:09:43.289 --> 00:09:47.320 a lot of people don't realize is the... Crisis 00:09:47.320 --> 00:09:51.899 isn't over when the storm is over. When the storm 00:09:51.899 --> 00:09:54.480 passes, yeah. Because you still have to wait 00:09:54.480 --> 00:09:58.500 for the conditions to be safe for the help to 00:09:58.500 --> 00:10:01.399 be able to come in and for the conditions to 00:10:01.399 --> 00:10:03.879 be to the point that the help can get to you. 00:10:04.120 --> 00:10:06.299 You know, the biggest thing with Katrina is they 00:10:06.299 --> 00:10:09.679 had to wait for boats to be able to get in because 00:10:09.679 --> 00:10:12.919 everywhere was flooded. I remember cruise ships 00:10:12.919 --> 00:10:15.100 even came over for some of the displaced and 00:10:15.100 --> 00:10:20.860 homeless. And you don't hear about it once it 00:10:20.860 --> 00:10:25.779 cycles through the news, once a week or so passes. 00:10:26.679 --> 00:10:31.379 Generally, the news outlets go on to more immediate 00:10:31.379 --> 00:10:34.899 things, and the recovery efforts and the rebuilding 00:10:34.899 --> 00:10:37.240 efforts sort of loses the rest of the country's 00:10:37.240 --> 00:10:39.960 attention, but it's still going on. It's just 00:10:39.960 --> 00:10:42.259 like a whole bunch of tornadoes going through. 00:10:42.909 --> 00:10:46.110 uh the plain states it's just like a bad blizzard 00:10:46.110 --> 00:10:49.250 in the mountains it's just unlike a bad earthquake 00:10:49.250 --> 00:10:53.470 on the west coast we all have things that we 00:10:53.470 --> 00:10:56.210 need to prepare for and we're just encouraging 00:10:56.210 --> 00:10:59.190 everyone on the east coast and and in the gulf 00:10:59.190 --> 00:11:03.250 states to be preparing for the hurricane season 00:11:03.250 --> 00:11:07.289 that has just begun this is a particularly long 00:11:07.289 --> 00:11:10.990 episode this week we apologize for that but But 00:11:10.990 --> 00:11:14.750 by golly, it's important, even though our little 00:11:14.750 --> 00:11:17.289 foster kitten has slept through every single 00:11:17.289 --> 00:11:21.570 bit of it. And we would hope that if we're really 00:11:21.570 --> 00:11:25.129 well prepared indeed, that's exactly how we would 00:11:25.129 --> 00:11:28.470 all be able to weather the storm is by sleeping 00:11:28.470 --> 00:11:32.269 through it. Unless it's a direct hit, then we're 00:11:32.269 --> 00:11:34.590 going to bug out and we will be found in another 00:11:34.590 --> 00:11:38.659 state. So this is all a highly personal choice. 00:11:38.759 --> 00:11:41.500 No conversation that we have on the Light Keepers 00:11:41.500 --> 00:11:44.480 podcast should ever take the place of your own 00:11:44.480 --> 00:11:47.960 medical team or other professional advisor or 00:11:47.960 --> 00:11:52.179 FEMA or your local emergency management division 00:11:52.179 --> 00:11:55.080 who should always be consulted on your specific 00:11:55.080 --> 00:11:58.500 situational needs. We all need good information 00:11:58.500 --> 00:12:01.179 to make the very best informed decisions and 00:12:01.179 --> 00:12:03.639 live life on our own terms. This conversation 00:12:03.639 --> 00:12:06.279 is to start you thinking. because most people 00:12:06.279 --> 00:12:09.320 are not prepared at all. They're complacent about 00:12:09.320 --> 00:12:12.519 hurricanes. Some are very well prepared indeed, 00:12:12.759 --> 00:12:15.299 from joining us here on the Light Keepers podcast 00:12:15.299 --> 00:12:19.419 every Wednesday evening at 7 p .m. Eastern. The 00:12:19.419 --> 00:12:21.639 Light Keepers podcast is an exclusive production 00:12:21.639 --> 00:12:25.039 of Vanimation Studios and A Guiding Light, and 00:12:25.039 --> 00:12:29.019 is found on all audio RSS podcast feeds and also 00:12:29.019 --> 00:12:32.370 on YouTube. Visit the website at a guiding light 00:12:32.370 --> 00:12:35.129 dot org or to make a tax deductible contribution. 00:12:35.450 --> 00:12:38.070 Send your check to the address that's right below 00:12:38.070 --> 00:12:40.750 us here on this screen. And speaking of that, 00:12:40.789 --> 00:12:43.250 hit the like and subscribe buttons. That's free. 00:12:43.649 --> 00:12:47.970 So you'll catch every single episode. And if 00:12:47.970 --> 00:12:51.169 you want to foster a kitten for your local humane 00:12:51.169 --> 00:12:54.850 shelter, it definitely is a rewarding experience. 00:12:54.970 --> 00:12:58.509 We highly recommend it. I'm Clayton Vandiver, 00:12:58.649 --> 00:13:01.190 your light keeper. We'll see you next time.