Hurricane Irene: Valuable Guides and Apps to Help Americans Prepare
With government officials insisting Friday that adequate preparation for Hurricane Irene was a matter of life and death, organizations were seeking to equip Americans ahead of the storm's potential wrath.
The Weather Channel published a guide on its website which suggests steps to take amid threats of a hurricane like Irene.
The guide recommends filling all vehicles with gas, getting extra cash, filling medical prescriptions, packing emergency kits, and securing your home's windows with shutters or plywood.
Find additional information at Weather.com: Taking Action on preparedness and Hurricane Survival Kit for when a storm actually hits.
The government's Ready America website provides a list of items to include in a disaster survival kit, such as water, food, a battery-powered or hand crank radio, a flashlight, extra batteries, and more. Get all the information in Ready America's Get A List guide.
Ready America also offers information for seniors and the disabled, people with pets, and business owners:
For those hoping to use technology to stay on top of Hurricane Irene, FEMA's mobile website allows visitors to get updates for their specific area.
There was also a hurricane tracking app available for $2.99 on Apple's iTunes store.
The Weather Channel also offered a free comprehensive app for Android users.
Irene, a category two hurricane as of Friday afternoon, was expected to make landfall along the Carolinas sometime between Friday night and Saturday morning.
Meteorologists have warned that areas all along the mid-Atlantic, East Coast, and New England were expected to feel Hurricane Irene's effects.
Additional Hurricane Resources: