I had planned to blog about all kinds of subjects today...good and evil airline personnel, the moral dilemma around visit countries with aggressive military policies and poor human rights records (Russia), even my review of last month's Baltic cruise.
But it's hurricane season in this part of the world, and so we turn our attention to the approaching storm.
No storm is to be taken lightly. Fay has already caused several deaths in Hispanola, the island that is home to Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Yet as hurricanes go, this one is expected to be a lesser than greater event. When you've been through wonkers like Hurricane Andrew, a Category 1 storm seems manageable. Right now we've only got a drizzle here in Miami, and I'm hoping my biggest personal threat is an overflowing pool.
But that doesn't mean you can go mindless...especially if you're traveling.
Here are a few tips:
- The Florida Keys, which admirably takes a proactive approach to alerting visitors about storm threats, is already evacuating its tourists. Read more on the Keys.
- If you're slated to travel to South Florida -- or any place in Florida likely to be affected today or tomorrow -- call your airline, then your hotel and then check your travel insurance policy. Few travel insurance policies offer much help until a storm actually hits, but many hotels and airlines offer relief. (Partly it's a matter of good will, and partly, it's because the flights can't always get in anyway, and the hotels want to let their own staffs go home.)
- If you're slated to travel out of South Florida in the next two days, the same advice applies. If your airline can't fly, they aren't going to expect you on the plane. But you want to check to be sure.
Throughout today and tomorrow, you can follow the storm, airport closings and other related information at MiamiHerald.com.
Here in the Travel section, we'll be pretty busy rethinking next week's Travel section. It's about Florida. But I'll update my blog as travel-relate alerts bccome available.
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