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Hurricane Preparation

Hurricane season is upon us once again. While hurricanes may develop any time during the June to November hurricane season, they are most likely to occur between August and October. In order to best protect yourself and your groves or nursery, it is essential to develop a hurricane plan and prepare in advance.

Although there is not much that can be done to prevent damage to trees and fruit from the wind, rain has the potential to cause the most severe and longest lasting damage to citrus. There are precautions that can be taken to help minimize damage and protect your grove or nursery.

Be Water Wise

• Clean and pump down ditches and grade areas to help maximize drainage and water removal efforts after the storm.
• Irrigate trees and remove water from reservoirs. Dismantle irrigation risers.
• Provide for portable water storage.
• Fill additional fuel tanks, sprayers and portable containers with water.
• Turn off water, natural and propane gas and electricity.

Make Non-Water Preparations

• Make sure all emergency equipment is on hand and in good, working condition. This includes generators, chain saws, torches and air compressors.
• Ensure radios are in working order. Have hand-held portable radios with extra batteries, or direct truck-to-truck radio communication available in case of downed phone lines.
• Secure all hazardous materials.
• Fill fuel, fertilizer and other liquid material tanks so they won’t move in the wind and rain, and to ensure sufficient fuel is available for the recovery process.
• Establish personnel assignments. Make a list of all tasks that will need to be performed and whose responsibility they will be following the storm so there are no last-minute surprises. Keep an updated list of contact information for workers at their place of safety so that you can communicate with them following the storm.
• Make sure your crop insurance is up-to-date and have contact information for your agent accessible.
• Keep a list of emergency contact information for agencies that you may need assistance from during or after the storm.

(This information was taken, in part, from Fact Sheet HS-804, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, UF/IFAS, publication date April 2001; Fact Sheet ENH 155, a series of the Environmental Horticulture Department, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, UF/IFAS, publication date January 2001; and Hurricane Recovery Resources for Citrus, R. Buker, Citrus Research and Education Center, UF/IFAS, publication date 2004. To view these documents in their entirety, visit http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu and www.crec.ifas.ufl.edu.)