Could you be ready right now???

[PatsGirl]

for a Cat 5 Hurricane? I've been watching the Weather channel and others who say everyone in NO going to the shelter needs to be prepared for 3-5 days and wondered if I could be ready AT THIS MOMENT.

Sure, if I had a day or two to go to the store I could prepare and many did know that this storm was coming, but few knew to this degree.... I might have picked up a few items just in case.

Well, it looks like I have enough food for four days for myself and two kids (without refrigeration, but in a cooler). Of course, we could stretch it probably twice as long if necessary but that would be with hunger...

So, what do you have in your cupboards that you could leave with within the hour for you and your family?

I certainly don't want to offend anyone. I just was curious (and a little apprehensive) about how we would do. We do have a blizzard or two around this parts (I was without power for 3 days last winter after the 3' of snow dumped here but more relevant, couldn't get out of the driveway for more than a week) so my big thing is keeping propone in the gas grill

Here's my list (keep in mind that Monday is shopping day, lol):

12 cans of Chunky Soup
Peanut Butter
Box of Saltines
12 cans of veggies
2 boxes of cereal
1 bag chips
3 cans tuna
4 cans of beans
3 eggs (I'd hardboil them)
10 hot dogs
1# cheese
12 slices cheese
1/2# ham
Hamburger/hot dog rolls
Powered lemonade (I'd make a 1 gallon cooler full)
Plenty of ice

Not much food I know. I also have plenty of steak tips and chicken in the freezer but I'm not counting that. I'm trying to think of things we could grab and go....

Brenda

 

[worm761]

i live in hurricane country so i can say yes. i would be prepared right now if i have to be. BUT i live here and know the threat. hurricane ivan was a first for me. i had only lived here for a year and it was my first hurricane. i learned ALOT! we were without water for 6 days and power for 3 weeks. when hurricane season came this year i was already prepared to be without power for several days. we keep bottled water on hand at all times. i always have crackers and peanut butter. and lots of canned goods. things that will not go bad without refrigeration. and that are easy to heat up. i also keep lots of batteries, flashlights, small battery operated fans, and propane laterns with plenty of propane on hand.

 

[MinnieM3]

i live in hurricane country so i can say yes. i would be prepared right now if i have to be. BUT i live here and know the threat. hurricane ivan was a first for me. i had only lived here for a year and it was my first hurricane. i learned ALOT! we were without water for 6 days and power for 3 weeks. when hurricane season came this year i was already prepared to be without power for several days. we keep bottled water on hand at all times. i always have crackers and peanut butter. and lots of canned goods. things that will not go bad without refrigeration. and that are easy to heat up. i also keep lots of batteries, flashlights, small battery operated fans, and propane laterns with plenty of propane on hand.

Same here. In May we get together large Rubbermaid storage container that's the "hurricane box." It only takes one to change your life.

 

[Talking Hands]

Forget the hot dogs as you would have no place to cook them.
Yes we could up and leave at anytime if needed. We normally have a full stock of hurricane supplies on hand before the start of hurricane season. My husband is a 58 year vet of hurricanes in Florida and I have been here 30 years now.
Our supplies:
Cans of veggies and beans.
Cans of meat and tuna small enough to be eaten in one sitting
Ramen noodles
Instant soups and vegetarian meals in cups
Water
Sodas
Camping dried meals
Dried fruit and canned fruit in small cans

(Btw nothing that needs to be refrigerated)
a supply of meds and insulin
first aid kit

 

[froglady]

I would also be able to pack up and leave within a couple of hours, although I haven't had to in past hurricanes. We have a generator, plywood cut to the windows,water,etc but I also have a rolling plastic trunk that I would fill with water, canned goods, and supplies if I was told to leave. (It's full of hurricane prep supplies at the moment.)

 

[Aidensmom]

Same here. In May we get together large Rubbermaid storage container that's the "hurricane box." It only takes one to change your life.

We do the same thing. I actually just keep a lot of stuff in it year round, batteries, flashlights, candles, and all of our important paperwork. I replenish the food each May.

 

[PatsGirl]

That's funny you said that about the hot dogs. I'm of the "camp" that says hot dogs are bologna and don't have to be heated. Actually, between postings, I was thinking about the #ham and 2 packs of hot dogs I've got in the freezer that would be good about a week from now...

As for batteries and that sort of thing, I always have them ready for a storm (as well as the propone grill), because I live in the woods and find myself without power for two or three days every winter (with any luck that no major storms find us). I was really wondering what I could throw in a cooler and box to feed my family for 3-5 days with no warning.

Thank God this is one I can just wonder about....

To all of those that are not wondering but praying!

 

[katerkat]

Not for a hurricane (don't get many in the Pacific Northwest) but I do have stuff prepped for an evacuation. And when I was in Oklahoma and Mississippi, I had stuff in the bathroom in case of a tornado.

 

[Planogirl]

In Texas, many people without power after Alicia broke out the grills and cooked and heated everything on them. So for us a big bag of charcoal would be very important. That and lots of batteries, water and ice.

 

[Meezers]

Top of my list would be cat litter...the huge cat crate (the kitty condo)...cat food....

Don't have the hurricane problem....but live in an all electric apartment and we do have the occasional ice storm here in Atlanta.

Mom lives about a mile away with gas water heater....fireplace....natural gas grill....we do have a winter emergency plan

 

[golfgal]

No, I couldn't pack up right now for a hurricane, but then, we don't get many in Minnesota. Our preparedness is usually for tornadoes or blizzards. The nice thing about blizzards is that if your power is out, you have a free freezer outside, so, that isn't really a concern, keeping warm is. We have plenty of blankets, etc and a plan if the electricity is out for more then a few hours.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

I guess yes---but I would hit the store by the 72 hour mark.

We have water and a lot of canned goods and several bags of doritos. So I suppose we could eat--just wouldn't be the greatest food selection. We have a full propane tank on the grill--so we could grill our meets too before they go bad.

This is all of course if I were able to return home. I'm on an island--so we wouldn't be here anyway.

 

[MdmMim]

...Don't forget the manual can-opener...

 

[chrissyk]

Yes and no. We have another property to evacuate to, but we haven't stocked that property up yet. I keep meaning to do that...I need to get on that asap. One thing that we do do is keep the cars gassed up so we could get from here to there easily. Otherwise, I think we'd get there and have nothing to eat but frozen popsicles and bottled water at this point Maybe this will be my weekend project this weekend.

 

[bajanswife]

We're not quite ready - we need more food, and we need to buy a new generator (ours got stolen last year). Oh, and the shutters are starting to rot around the edges - we really need to replace them, though we could use them in a mild hurricane.

Evacuation is not usually an option (we can't drive anywhere to escape!), though we all have passports and could at a moment's notice get on a plane and take a forced vacation somewhere! That would be expensive though, and we'd only do that if it was going to be a Cat 5 or maybe a strong Cat 4. One of these days we're going to seal and tile our cellar properly so that we could shelter there safely if our roof goes. Our house is strong, and we do put up shutters on the windows, but a Cat 4 or 5 hurricane would challenge our roof to the max, and I'm not sure it would survive!

 

[experiment626mom]

12 cans of Chunky Soup
Peanut Butter
Box of Saltines
12 cans of veggies
2 boxes of cereal
1 bag chips
3 cans tuna
4 cans of beans
3 eggs (I'd hardboil them)
10 hot dogs
1# cheese
12 slices cheese
1/2# ham
Hamburger/hot dog rolls
Powered lemonade (I'd make a 1 gallon cooler full)
Plenty of ice

I would buy more non perishable, things that didn't need to be cooked or any cans that would need a can opener. And water lots and lots of bottle water.

 

[ducklite]

Very simply put, there is no being ready for a CAT 5, you evacuate, period.

I could evacuate my home in under an hour with enough supplies for my family and two ferrets for a week without going to thd store. We have places to go to the north, South, and West of us that we could get to within a four hour drive (under normal circumstances.) My car can go about eight hours without needing fuel. So I am prety confident.

Because I ran a private breed specific animal shelter for years, I was forced to have a plan, not just for weather, but in case of fire or other disaster.

If it was a lesser storm, then we are all set with a genny, window a/c unit, camp stove, bottled water and non-perishables, 20+ gallons of bottled water, etc. I can get my gas cans full to have 20 gallons (normally only keep 5 in the garage) and have a hand siphon so could take another 20+ out of the car tanks. We have Storm Stoppers for the windows, it was expensive, but they are lightweight enough that I can put them up without help. We also have enough blue tarp to cover our entire roof.

Anne