Taping up windows may be the most common myths about preparing for a hurricane in Florida. It's hardly the only one.
Such myths have clouded the judgment of Floridians for long in the face of the Sunshine State's greatest danger: hurricane season. Those myths may have even predicted this epoch of conspiracy theories and disinformation that has infected the understanding of the public about the elections, pandemic, and vaccines.
Here's the 5 dangerous myth capable of putting you at risk.
Myth 1: We're (likely) covered
The most crucial protection every homeowner in Florida needs before the coming of the hurricane season isn't storm shutters or an easily carried generator or an evacuation strategy.
It's ensuring they have the right insurance.
Florida Division of Emergency Management Director Kevin Guthrie said: "I think that is the first step."
Majority of Floridians, he said, go into storm season without adequate homeowner insurance and it doesn't cover the true value of their home.
Myth 2: Can't afford to get ready
Preparing for a storm can be costly, and Floridians with low-income or those that are unemployed may not have the resources to stock up on plywood and food. Those who own their homes may not be capable of getting them fixed prior to the storm season. Tenants may not be able to hunker down at home.
Guthrie said that shouldn't keep anyone from preparing for a hurricane.
"(The idea) that there is no money so I can't get ready is 100 percent a myth," he said. "There are things you can do that are zero dollar in getting ready."
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Myth 3: The cone of unsureness
Every storm season, Floridians become obsessed with the projected path of the latest storm menacing Florida. The National Hurricane Center makes use of that shaded cone and black line to reveal the potential path of the center of a storm about three and five days out.
But many read deep into the cone than they suppose.
They usually think that the center line is the true path of the storm, or that the cone itself exemplifies the size of the storm, or if they're on the edges of the cone they're in the clear.
None of that is the truth.
Myth 4: Meet the new storm, similar to the old storm
It's a myth that Pinellas County Emergency Management Director Cathie Perkins hears annually: "People believe the upcoming storm will be just like the last one."
Many are bound to believe that if they've experienced a Category 1 or Category 3 hurricane already, she said, then they've experienced them all.
Myth 5: There won't be any need for mask in shelters
Given the conspiracy theories, disinformation and bad-to-misleading advice that has to do with the coronavirus, vaccines and masks during the pandemic, it's not difficult to imagine that bleeding over into the preparations of hurricane.
An epidemiologist and the director of the University of Florida's master of public health program, Dr. Cindy Prins said: Masks and social distancing will still be required to prevent the virus from dispersing in evacuation shelters.
Related Article: Hurricane Season is Here: How Do Scientists Predict Incoming Storms and Hurricanes?
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