As a heartening sign that lessons of the past have been learned, one city’s government has published a hurricane preparedness guide that is a solid tool for anyone in the Gulf Coast region to utilize.
Available off of their website, the City of Boynton Beach has published a PDF that walks users through how to be best prepared in the event of a storm. As they put it
The best way to cope with a hurricane is to prepare a plan in advance. The 2009 Hurricane Preparedness Guide is a compilation of the best advice from experts at the City of Boynton Beach, the American Red Cross, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and other knowledgeable sources. It was written specifically for residents of Boynton Beach and contains important telephone numbers and locations of Publix stores and gasoline service stations with generators
While it is true some items are specific to their city, the PDF as a whole is a wealth of information on preparation, information and common traits of shelters and other governmental actions which cross city and state borders in terms of policy. The guide may be downloaded off of their website or by clicking here