Part of any behavioral health and addiction treatment provider that goes threw accreditation and licensure, is to prepare, plan and respond to any natural disaster. Hurricane Irma is an “extremely dangerous” Category 5, barreling toward the northern Lesser Antilles and Southern Florida. It’s already the strongest hurricane ever recorded outside the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico, and it’s likely to make landfall somewhere in Florida over the weekend.
If it does, the impact could be catastrophic.
The storm is life-threatening for the United States, including Puerto Rico, the U.S. and British Virgin Islands, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Cuba and the southeastern Bahamas. Hurricane warnings have been issued for the northern Leeward Islands, Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico. A hurricane watch is in effect for Hispaniola and southeastern Bahamas.
With maximum winds of 185 mph, Irma is tied for the second strongest storm ever observed in the Atlantic. And in its Tuesday morning discussion, the National Hurricane Center said the storm is in an environment “ideal for some additional intensification.”
This is the time all providers of behavioral health and addiction treatment in the Southeastern United States and all of Florida should be implementing their Hurricane Disaster Preparedness and Response Plan. Safety is first for all clients and our employees.
Below are two preparedness checklists, one for hospitals and one for personal use.
Hospital-Hurricane-Preparedness
Red Cross Personal Hurricane Checklist
Preparedness and Response are the key in keeping everyone safe.
From everyone at Seacrest Resource Center, stay safe, implement your plan and then check on your neighbors. Together we can get through this catastrophic hurricane.