ATLANTA, Aug. 22, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The first hurricane of the season, Irene, has been announced. Dr. Rick Knabb, hurricane expert for The Weather Channel, offers these safety tips to help ensure you and your family are as safe as possible in coastal areas:

• Create a written emergency preparedness and action plan for your family and business.

• Visit your insurance agent now. Review insurance coverage for your home and business, and the contents. Determine your flood insurance eligibility – homeowners insurance typically does not cover flood damage.

• Buy plywood or shutters for protecting windows. Trim trees to lessen flying debris.

• Contact your local emergency management office to see if you live in a hurricane evacuation zone. Make an evacuation plan if you live in an area vulnerable to storm surge or flooding, if you live in a mobile home, or if you live in a high-rise building.

• Identify the evacuation route you will use if told to evacuate. Determine the nearest substantial, low-rise building outside of flood zones to which you can evacuate – an official public shelter, a hotel, or a friend’s or relative’s home. Find out if the place you are going will accept pets.

• Agree upon two places family members can meet if separated: one outside your home for an emergency while there, and one out of the neighborhood if you cannot return home.

• Test emergency equipment such as generators and flashlights.

• Decide where to store your boat during a tropical storm or hurricane, and factor into your action plan the time to move it to storage.

• Assemble a hurricane survival kit. Obtain emergency supplies now, such as non-perishable food, water and medicine, to be self-sufficient during the storm and its potentially lengthy aftermath. If you wait until a hurricane is on your doorstep to buy these items, they will be in very short supply or even completely unavailable.

More "WeatherReady" tips are available here: www.weather.com/ready

Across The Weather Channel Company (TWCC) properties, real-time tropical updates and expert commentary will be available here:

• Hurricane Central: hurricane-related news, videos, maps, forecasts and analysis including an interactive hurricane tracker map and safety preparation tips – www.weather.com/hurricane
• Twitter: Real-time storm updates – @TWC_hurricane. Hashtags: #hurricane, #Irene. If evacuation is necessary, evacuees can provide their own updates using #Ireneevacinfo.

SOURCE The Weather Channel

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