Irene reminds us to get prepared

So far this week, we have said “Good Night Irene” and remembered the most destructive hurricane ever that struck our coast six years ago, Monday. And we can breathe a sigh of relief that Irene didn’t come this way and, after a difficult struggle, we did survive Katrina.

But the future is yet to come and, undoubtedly, will produce other threats regardless of how they are spelt. This week, there is another K storm in the Atlantic but Katia is not expected to come our way. There is, however, another group of winds in the Caribbean that could head northwest into the Gulf and develop into who knows what.

And therein is the rub, Never trust the weather whenever it is unsettled and could come our way.

Now is the time of the season when storm threats get more threatening and it is the time to take them even more seriously.

Everyone living along the Louisiana coast knows the do’s and dont’s of preparation. It’s time to put them into play if we have not done so already.

Bring out the list and do the ABCs of advance hurricane preparation. It’s already September and October is only a month away.

If Irene had struck Louisiana, it could have caused much more damage and loss of life along our fragile coast. But we can avoid much of that threat by being prepared.