Cdn Gringo.
if you live in a concrete built house with real walls and a non-Zink/Thatched Roof,
such "Hurricane" will not do you any harm.
our own personal "shelter", in case there would ever be the need for such extra safe place, is one of our bathrooms, the one which has no windows. surrounded by the other rooms, conrete walls and roof, such would be the safest place to knock back some cold beers, watch a Kid's Movie with wife and daughter as long as it lasts or as long as the batteries hold.
just do not forget to stock on a reasonable amount of cold beers and store them with Ice, as your power would go out, unless you are backupped by batteries or such.
do never do the so often done mistake, to go outside to film a Storm, such Vids and Photos come out fantastic, yes, but such stu behavior is the most common reason for the numbers on the deadrolls of a Storm.
once the wind goes down, you can leave the saferoom and take a look out the windows, do NOT start any beachwalk or such to get nosy, as in case of a close encounter with the center of a Storm, the game is played in 2 rounds.
round one is over, it gets even completely calm/windfree for a while, can last a couple hours, then round 2 starts up from one moment to an other, just like that in an eyeblink, and nosy people are caught on the streets or beach.
we experienced the center of a Storm here when Jeanne went thru/over us.
the stormwinds been zero problem for the house, we are not located vulnerable for floodings, so the water pressed in under the doors been the only inconveniency during the long hours of the 2 rounds game.
anyways,
the "Saferoom" was never necessary to be used.
living in a concrete house, in case of big glass front sure tap the windows with plywood(we have such double/tripple wide Veranda Glass Door, of course with a straight look to the Ocean and the Coconut Trees in the tropical garden, lol), tap the windows and stay inside away from such glass structures, stay in the other rooms.
keep in mind that power will go down, maybe for a few hours, maybe for days or a week, depending on damages for specific areas on their elec poles along the roads.
store sufficient 5 gallon buckets of drinking water for the number of persons in the house.
fill empty 5 gallon buckets/washing machne/other Cans with tap water to be used to flush the toilets and for showering, in case you would be without electricity for several day(like at my place, no Tinacos, just a big automatic pump for that comfy high water pressure, no Elec means No Water).
Hurricane Shelters?
nope, not really.
people in high vulnerable areas get evacuated, that's usually only for areas very vulnerable to flooding/mudslides, like the squatters along the big rivers.
your home is your shelter.
if your home feels unsafe to you, seek out on time a safer place/friends house/neighbour.
Mike
