Have you ever heard the phrase “The South’s Gonna Rise Again”? Perhaps it is true and who ever coined the phrase was talking about the floods rising from the rains; instead of the Civil War. A lot of U.S. States in the South will be paying close attention to the weather this year, since the BP Oil Spill is still a major issue. A lot of the United States is still in the tornado season and the first day of July showed Texas was already in the hurricane season. Hurricane Alex causing havoc in the Gulf of Mexico and dumping tons of rain on Northern Mexico and in Texas, appears to only be the midway point of a 6 month storm. What should residents do; that do call the Southern U.S. home?

From a financial standpoint, anyone living in the Midwest and Southeast States; who face a tornado season each spring, should look to protect their self from lightning. One bad lightning strike at your home could cause some major, if not fatal, damage to your HDTV, computer, and a cell phone you might have plugged in the wall for charging the battery. An inexpensive 8 outlet surge suppressor or protector could save you and your family thousands of dollars. I truly believe in these surge protectors. They are worth their weight in gold and you know how gold prices have been soaring off the charts lately. You should have your desktop computer, printer, monitor, fax machine, and all other computer accessories plugged-in to a surge protector. Don’t forget to protect the big screen TV too, because it costs way too much, for it to be lost to lightning.

Tornado season brings high winds and severe thunderstorms. The hurricane season is pretty much the same thing, but with a lot more flooding rain. Floods are the number 1 weather disaster that kills people each year. Humans can protect their electrical equipment well, with a surge protector on sale at Buy.com, but can’t do much self protection against lightning. You would think lightning bolts from the sky; which has a higher temperature than the surface of the Sun, would be more deadly. A flood is much more easier to defend against; when you compare it to lightning. Yet the numbers show floods take out more human life; than really all of the other weather and natural disasters combined.

Going to higher ground is the obvious advice for people trapped in a flood. The majority of deaths caused by floods is due to a lack of information from people that live in low-lying areas. For instance, someone going to bed at night and isn’t aware of the flooding conditions and gets swept away while sleeping. Or the driver on the road, who tries to drive through a gushing stream of water and lacks the information on the strength of the flow or that the road is washed away underneath. Turn around and don’t drown!

Most of us have completed the first couple of months from the sixth month storm (tornado season). Now we are looking at the next few months of this 6th month storm, due to the hurricanes that will be trying to find their way to the Gulf and Atlantic States. Hurricane Alex wasn’t even a direct hit in the U.S., but the flooding rains from Alex did impact a large chunk of Texas. A couple of tornadoes did spawn from Hurricane Alex. Not to mention the numerous lightning strikes; which probably killed a lot of electrical gadgets in the Lone Star State.

Best thing for all of us to do is stay informed with what’s going on out there. You come first, so protecting your health against Mother Nature’s fury is priority number one. Keep all of your expensive electrical equipment plugged-in to a outlet with surge protection. Avoid driving on the roads during severe storms and after heavy rains have fell. The 2010 sixth month storm will be watched more closely than all of the ones before it. We can thank the good folks from the British Petroleum company for that. Please stay safe and this story to be continued…