Emergency Supplies

[Simba's Mom]

In addition to flashlights, we keep extra batteries in our hurricane preparedness kit. After the last major hurricane, we were without power for 4 1/2 days. A few stores were open, none had batteries. And if you hear of a storm coming, be sure your cell phone is charged. Some vehicles come with chargers, so it's best to have a way to recharge your phone. I remember when we had a car charger in our kit. Have fruit cups, soup, in your kit. I found that I was very thirsty and dehydrated all the time, so the soup tasted good, even in the 95 degree heat with no air conditioning or fans.

 

[Imzadi]

I realized that we needed to upgrade and get new solar lanterns and light sources and a solar/crank powered radio.

Make sure you read the reviews of the hand crank powered lights & radios. I, along with many bought some hand crank flashlights from Amazon that received hundreds of rave reviews. Many people tested the flashlights right away. Left the bright flashlights on overnight to drain down the power, then cranked them right back up. Flashlights were bright again. Worked great. So those reviews for initial tests & usage were rave reviews.

What none of us knew was that there were little watch batteries inside each flashlight creating the power. Apparently, as long as there was still a little power in each watch battery, the crank could recharge them. BUT, if the flashlights were left in a drawer for a year or so and the watch batteries totally drained of power on their own and were TOTALLY dead, NO amount of cranking could generate any power. These flashlights were useless when we actually needed them. And why bother to buy a hand crank light that depended on batteries anyway? Especially little batteries that were hard to remove and change?

Hopefully, there have been newer hand crank and solar powered items developed instead.

While I may still get a hand crank light, I decided to go the route of getting LED lights (that are quite bright for a long while yet use very few regular batteries. I've got re-chargeable batteries now. The newest generation of NiMH rechargeables say on the label that they are “ready to use” right away. Brand new, they have a shelf life of 5-10 years. No need to charge first. Once charged, they last at least 8 months to a year without being recharged and still retain 80% power.

I bought several extra that are kept reserved only for emergency use, so I do not have to go raiding items around the house for batteries to operate stuff. And enough to keep things lit for a week. I set a reminder in my calendar to remind me to charge these emergency batteries twice a year, once before hurricane season, and then in the winter before the blizzards & nor'easters start here.

The only thing I would like to get is a solar powered cellphone charger. The technology keeps changing and growing on that, so I keep putting off getting one.

 

[Imzadi]

Starbucks via instant coffee and creamora powdered creamer (must have coffee). We have a natural gas stove and outdoor grill, so we always have a way to cook without power.

Yes, I NEED my coffee too. Since my building switched for gas stove to electric, I bought several canned fuel (Sterno) to heat food & water instead, if the power goes out. When I worked for caterers, we learned that these little cans of fuel are strong enough to cook with, at remote locations where we didn't have a kitchen to work out of.

One can set a few or many of them on the bottom of an oven as a substitute source of heat for baking. If one needs to boil water, move the oven rack to the lowest level. Put a pot of water on the rack. Place one Sterno underneath the pot & rack. There should be a 2-3 inch clearance underneath the pot. When the Sterno is lit, the flames should lick the bottom of the pot. (Careful! The blue flame is so hot and very hard to see. You may think it's not lit or touching the pot. Do NOT put your finger there to check. The flame rises up about 2-3 inches. If you squint, you will see a fuzzy, blurred aberration above the can opening when lit. It's better to think the flame is lit than not, when you can't see it.) If the Sterno can is too low, you can flip a plate or bowl over and place the can of Sterno on top of the bottom of the bowl, then light it.

When needing to extinguish the Sterno flame, just quickly place a saucer over the can. If you need to move the Sterno can while it's still hot, use tongs.

 

[tvguy]

Our solar panels and battery backup will keep our electric running other than heavy loads like dryer, oven, and AC/heat. So no worries about losing a fridge full of food or being without lights, fans, tv, or ability to charge cell phones. I always tend to keep a lot of food on hand regardless of storm season. We usually have a few gallons of water on hand as well.

I have solar panels. The code here requires they shutdown if the utility provided electricity is down, so they are no good to me for that. That's a safety rule so that my solar panels don't accidentally feed electricity back into the grid and electrocute someone working to restore the power.

 

[Lehuaann]

We have a lot of the supplies mentioned..but just got a Berkey Water Filter. Also, Mylar food storage bags with oxygen absorbers

 

[Frozen Canuck]

This was a thread from 2018, which you may find helpful...
Hurricane Tips: Here Comes Florence

We live in an area that is prone to power outages, hurricanes, nor'easters, and snow. I have a running list for preparing for any manner of storms and outages. We do have a generator, but it will only handle our fridge, freezer, and a couple of other items.

Some random suggestions from my list:

• glow sticks (can be used as a nightlight for kids or placed at the tops of stairs so people know where they are)
• Emergency lights that turn on when the power goes off. Keep them at the tops of stairs bathroom, or ends of hallways.
• battery operated fans or spray fans with lots of extra batteries
• manual toothbrushes and floss if you usually use electric (only if you have no means of charging your handle or if you rely on a Water Pik)
• condiment packets for things like mustard, relish, mayonnaise, and ketchup for hotdogs and sandwiches, as they don't require refrigeration
• I am a big proponent of having plenty of snacks, cookies, etc. during a potential emergency, as they are a comfort item
• As a storm approaches, fill an ice chest or two with ice or frozen water jugs. Put pre-chilled drinks in one, label the top. Put food sandwich meat, yogurt, milk for cereal, etc..anything else cold you want to eat in the other ice chest. That way if power goes out no will open the freezer or refrigerator and items will stay colder for a longer time. Wrap coolers in blankets for insulation.
• A Yeti or similar type of cooler will keep items cold far longer than your average, less expensive cooler
• A phone with unlimited data is priceless. Consider upgrading your plan before a major event.
• Plan and/or set out some activities to pass the time (cards, board games, crafts, activity books, magazines, good books you have had on your reading list.) There can be long hours of time to fill before power is restored.
• Purchase headlamps to provide hands-free lighting.
• Pick up a dual port car charger USB adapter so you can charge your phone in the car.
• There are a number of cooling products for pets, such as The Green Pet Shop Cool Pet Pad, All for Paws Chill Out Dog Ice Bandana, pet beds made with cooling gel, or even swimming pools.

 

[QueenIsabella]

We have a whole-house generator, and we typically have plenty of canned goods and bottled water on hand. We're also safety nuts, so on an average day, we have flashlights, batteries, and so forth. We also have a Halo in each car. So, we don't need much else. I may look into a water filter as a just-in-case item.

During Florence, we were out of power for 4 days, with only a gas-powered generator. We almost ran out of gas. A friend helped us out, and I had a lead on a functioning gas station, when the power came back.

It was funny how different family members dealt with it:

DH insisted we get the whole-house generator
DD27 was the most freaked out--she was 800 miles away. She feared losing her entire family. Luckily, we were able to keep in cellphone contact with her, so she knew we were fine.
My younger three were mostly bored and sweaty
I was up to my ears in caring for the three tiny kittens we found in the front yard. I gave them 2% milk (all I had) until the Walmart opened, and I could get kitten formula. It was nice for the kids to have something to focus on during the power outage, but some help for the 2am feedings would have been nice.

 

[jalapeno_pretzel]

I have solar panels. The code here requires they shutdown if the utility provided electricity is down, so they are no good to me for that. That's a safety rule so that my solar panels don't accidentally feed electricity back into the grid and electrocute someone working to restore the power.

Yeah, that is exactly the case here too. It wasn't until we added the powerwall battery that we can keep power during an outage.

 

[barkley]

lots of the stuff mentioned (no hurricanes here but windstorms and snowstorms). i also keep on hand-

extra prescription meds (i keep a couple of weeks extra for every regular and non regular scrip b/c we had a region wide power outage that kept even the pharmacies scrambling for days on end)

extra otc meds (same reason as above-in particular imodium/exlax/advil/benadril/pepsid)

cash $$$ (when regional power was out debit/credit cards did not work)

pet carrier (stored in the house) in case of emergency evacuation.


these i have on hand and could have been an evil person and not loaned them out (but could have made allot of money off my neighbors b/c they were desperate for them)-

hand crank coffee grinder (lots of people only buy whole beans)

old school campfire coffee pot (people without generators often have pellet stoves or bbqs which these will brew coffee on).

 

[tvguy]

Jugs of water. At least one full tank of propane. Plenty of canned fruit and veggies and soup. Also, we keep a couple of boxes of that high temperature milk that needs no refrigeration until opened.

 

[QueenIsabella]

Definitely keep some cash--if the power's out, cash is king. We keep a few hundred around, in various denominations. We did find during Florence that most people are helpful and friendly and willing to work with you (our house contractor filled our gas cans from his stash, wouldn't take a dime). But, some people are jerks--the same contractor had someone siphon his remaining gas during the night, right in his driveway. Stupid jerk who stole it--if he'd asked, the contractor probably would have GIVEN it to him.

We also let it be known on our street that we have the whole-house generator. We live on an "old" street"--we're the "young" family, everyone else is 70+, some with health issues. We'd be happy to have them stay in air-conditioned comfort in our home in an emergency.

 

[lucas]

I live in South Florida. Here are a few things:
Various portable chargers, charged up and ready.
Flameless candles
Batteries
Emergency lanterns
Battery powered fans
Water
Canned foods, bread, lots of snack food, chips, crackers, peanut butter, jelly, tuna fish, cookies, nuts. Plan ahead - don't wait until the last minute to go to the grocery!
Top off gas tanks in cars.
Freeze water in various containers to keep in freezer then move down to refrigerator when power goes out.
Fill gallon milk containers with tap water to keep on hand for flushing toilets and anything else that might come up.

Some good info here:
https://www.stateofflorida.com/articles/hurricane-preparedness-guide/