Marty Dail prays every day that a storm will not come through Belhaven.
Today, she will do more than pray. She will prepare.
The Belhaven Seniors’ Center will have a disaster preparation seminar from 10 a.m. to noon.
“This is the first one we’ve had in a while,” said Dail, director of the center. She invited the Beaufort County Emergency Management Department to review the preparations needed for hurricanes and other natural disasters.
“I think it’s great our county office is coming here to do this to help inform people in this end of our county,” Dail said. “Meteorologists are expecting a very active hurricane season this year.”
The days after a hurricane hits can be as detrimental to seniors as the hurricanes, themselves. Belhaven has a history of flooding. Roads are sometimes blocked by fallen trees or closed due to rising waters.
Dail said the area lost power and water during Irene. The center had to relocate to St. Thomas Episcopal Church.
“They were a harbor for us during a terrible storm,” she said.
The seminar is a reminder to have prescribed medications, emergency phone numbers and enough food and water to handle long periods of recovery after the storm.
The seminar is a service for the center’s clients, but it is open to the public and all ages are welcome.
“We don’t card,” quipped Dail.
The Belhaven Senior Center is located at 274 East Main Street. For more information about today’s seminar, call 943-2992.