Hoe voorbereid te zijn op de orkaan Irma?

Er is geen manier om sugarcoat het. Orkaan Irma, potentieel de sterkste ooit orkaan te worden geregistreerd in de Atlantische Oceaan is buiten de Caribische Zee is nu op weg naar de oostkust van de Verenigde Staten. Een categorie 5 Orkaan, Irma's snelheden zijn boven 185 Mph. As the east coast residents prepare for what is potentially going to be a devastating landfall, residents of various Caribbean islands including the Dominican Republic and Santo Domingo are already equally bracing for its impact. So how do you prepare for hurricane Irma, especially if you are on vacation in the Caribbean? Goed, here are a few useful tips.

 

Know what is going on

Being on top of things and knowing when the hurricane is going to make a landfall is ideally the first step towards ensuring your safety during the storm. Make use of resources and applications like the National Weather Service’s National Hurricane Center, the Weather Channel, and Hurricane App. With the Hurricane App, you will be able to track the hurricane’s latest coordinates, distance from the storm’s current location to your hotel in miles, satellite images and much more. Information is power. Know what is going and stay safe.

 

Listen to instructions;

Do not get out of your hotel room when you have been advised to stay indoors – seriously. If authorities are directing you to stay away from the beach or seek shelter, do not be rebellious. This is not the time to defy instructions or doubt the storm’s power. Sign up for alerts that will advise you when it is time to evacuate or seek shelter.

 

Find a hotel with weather guarantee;

Most Carribean hotels offer incentives to book at their hotel during the hurricane season. Some hotels offer room upgrades while others waiver resort fees. Zelfs als het hotel waar u momenteel verblijft deze deals niet heeft geadverteerd, vraag de receptie om te zien of ze een upgrade hebben die uw ervaring in het hotel zal helpen verbeteren.

 

Ken uw evacuatiezone zo snel mogelijk ;

De meeste Caribische resorts hebben evacuatiezones aangewezen om bezoekers in veiligheid te brengen wanneer de orkaan toeslaat. Ontdek de evacuatiezone van uw hotel of resort bij de receptie. Als u uw evacuatiezone van tevoren kent en lokaliseert, u deskundig en kalm blijven in het licht van de storm als er behoefte is aan evacuatie. Op dit punt, het is niet erg duidelijk of orkaan Irma Punta Cana en Puerto Plata zal treffen, en hoe krachtig het zal zijn. Echter, preparing for the worst-case scenario will give you some peace of mind in the meantime.

 

Be prepared

Besides seeking shelter and getting out of harm’s way, most people tend to forget the essentials until it is too late, or when they are desperately needed. For instance, if you rented a car for your vacation, ensure it has enough gas. This way, you will avoid long queues, or in worse case, if power is cut, no gas at all. Stock up drinking water and food if you are living in a self-service hotel. In addition, take out enough money from the ATM; again, should there be a power outage, the extra cash will become more valuable than gold.

 

Hurricanes can take anyone by surprise. This was particularly clear last week when Hurricane Harvey took Texas, and the city of Houston, by storm. And now, with Hurricane Irma already wreaking havoc in the Caribbean island, people should know how to prepare for this catastrophe – just in case it will be as destructive as experts are forecasting it to be. Keep in mind, Echter, that there are just tips to help you with your vacation. Since no one can control the weather, the best you can do is prepare for the unexpected. Be safe, follow instructions and seek shelter when advised to do so. Hopefully, these tips will help your dream Dominican Republic vacation from turning into a nightmare!