HOUSTON — The Atlantic hurricane season doesn’t officially begin until June 1, but experts say the best time to prepare is before it actually starts.

You don’t want to rush through potentially life-savings preparations for you and your family as a storm is actually bearing down on us. That means doing everything from gathering a hurricane kit to making sure your insurance is up to date.

When it comes to evacuating, the Houston area learned a lot from the deadly evacuation for Hurricane Rita. Telling an entire region with millions of residents to evacuate at the same time led to over a hundred deaths in a backup that lasted over 24 hours.

Now the area is divided by zip code into evacuation zones. Residents will be told to evacuate according to which zone they are in. Check which zone your zip code is in so you are prepared when officials make that call.

Most of us are familiar with hurricane kits but yours probably needs a refresher. Check your supplies. Replace any expired food and make sure you have water and medicine for each member of your family. And that includes pets!

You will also want to check in with your insurance agent to do a check-up. Remember that home and renters insurance doesn’t cover flooding so you will need a separate policy for that.

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