Bad economy adds risk to hurricane season

TAMPA - Monday is the big day. It’s the start of hurricane season.

For weeks emergency officials have been urging all of us to get prepared.

Some are doing it, some are procrastinating a bit, and some are dealing with a new element altogether when it comes to that vacant home next door and the potential storms lurking around the corner.

In Palmetto, on Sunday, area veterinarians were getting some practice in a mock drill.

“It’s to prepare us for all different kinds of scenarios,” offers Dr. Jan Hasse with The Sarasota Animal Hospital.

They’re checking out dogs as if they had been exposed to flood waters and the potential disease and illness that goes along with that exposure.

Hasse says they’ve learned from hurricanes past. Now, thanks to state mandate, a team of veterinarians will be on standby after a storm blows through.

“We found out when Charley came through in ‘04 those vet hospitals and people that had a basic plan weathered the storm a whole lot better than those who did not,” added Hasse.

Bay Area residents are also preparing for themselves. Although, according to a recent Mason Dixon poll more than half of Floridians living in hurricane prone areas have nothing with which to cover their doors or windows.

“People procrastinate. They wait until the last minute and we can provide some product at the last minute, but we can’t provide all of the fancy products at the last minute,” explained Scott Walker of Affordable Aluminum.

Ted Glezen is ready. He’s been in his home for eight years and weathered many storms in the past. He’s been prepared for each and every one of them.

“When Charley was getting ready to bear down on Tampa I was all set and ready to go,” offered Glezen.

But this year he and thousands of other Floridians are dealing with a new element when it comes to hurricanes; that abandoned home across the street.

Glezen is left to wonder, if a hurricane does blow through, whose responsibility it is to secure the home. And what if the damage comes his way?

“I certainly don’t want to be responsible because obviously then that’s going to cost me money,” added Glezen.

Emergency officials say their top priority in a major storm is to evacuate, not to secure vacant homes. When a home is between owners, it becomes even more difficult to figure out who might be responsible.

So, for now, Glezen just looks across the street and hopes for the best.

In addition to the damage that an abandoned home could cause, analysts say it also has the potential of bringing down the value of your home.

When it comes to those homes, some banks have plans for protecting houses they’ve taken over, but not all follow through.