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Alert at the Mall: Have Storm Plans: Broward Officials Urged Residents to Create Multiple Plans for What Experts Predict to Be an Active Hurricane Season

Posted on: Sunday, 4 June 2006, 06:00 CDT

By Stephanie Chen, The Miami Herald

Jun. 4--Plan A: Staying at grandma and grandpa's house in Pembroke Pines.

Plan B: Retreating to a hotel room -- any available room -- along northbound Interstate 75.

And if a hurricane spoils both options, the Steinlauf family may need to draw out a more extensive plan.

"Hopefully, it won't come to that," said Robert Steinlauf, a 50-year-old father of two daughters in Miramar.

While the Steinlaufs are prepared and ready for what experts predict to be an active hurricane season, Broward Emergency Management Coordinator David R. Sandau estimated 50 percent of residents do not have sufficient hurricane plans.

"Until it slaps you in the face, people don't recognize there is a problem," Sandau said at the hurricane boot camp event at Pembroke Lakes Mall. 'Some people think, 'My window didn't break last year, so I don't need to worry.' "

On Saturday, the event brought together local law enforcement and county agencies along with shutter and mold remediation companies to urge Broward residents to prepare for the worst possible scenario.

This year, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicts 13 to 16 tropical storms, eight to 10 of them becoming hurricanes. Six of the hurricanes could have winds of more than 110 mph. Hurricane season began Thursday.

"Of course, I'm real scared," said 57-year-old Donna Millar, who shares similar fears with many other Broward residents after being rattled by Hurricane Wilma and Katrina last year.

Millar, unable to walk independently and suffering heart problems, still lives in a Hollywood trailer with leaks and damage from Hurricane Wilma last October. But Millar isn't going to let her personal challenges keep her from preparing for this hurricane season.

She bought extra food and water and even contacted friends for places to stay. She's taking "individual responsibility" -- exactly what Sandau and local law enforcement officials urged the public to do.

Pembroke Pines Fire Marshal David Raines said residents need to be self-sufficient for at least seven days after the storm with food, water, batteries, generators and medicine. The chaos right after the storm is one of the biggest challenges, he said.

"Our resources will be stretched so thin by that time, we can't do the impossible," Raines said. "We can't help everyone at the same time.'

John Sitra, 43, of Hollywood took a break from shopping to listen to the speakers.

"Don't wait until the last minute," said Sitra, who has stocked his utility closet with canned food. He experienced Hurricane Andrew in 1992, and there is one thing he has learned for certain: "You can never be too prepared."

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Copyright (c) 2006, The Miami Herald

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

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Source: The Miami Herald

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