On behalf of the Diocesan Emergency Preparedness and Response Committee I wanted to reach out to you regarding the approach of Hurricane Matthew. It looks like it may be mostly a rain event for us with perhaps some high tides along the coast. However, the recent experience with Hurricane Irene and the resulting havoc from rain in parts of Vermont and N.H. proved that even leftover rain from a Hurricane can have huge effects.
This is a good opportunity to review your parish disaster plan, the security of important records and valuables, and your emergency communication plan in case of the loss of power and telecommunications. From a pastoral perspective, it is always good to identify those in the parish who are most vulnerable and create a plan within the parish or with local emergency responders for 'wellness checks'. If you need help with any of these, please reach out to us.
HERE is a helpful flyer from Episcopal Relief and Development on personal preparedness. And here is a link to a page on Ready.gov on specifics about hurricane preparedness: https://www.ready.gov/hurricanes.