Hurricane Veterans: What Should I be Doing?

[Aurora63]

Hi neighbors, I'm in Delray. I've decided not to get my panties in a wad until at least we hear more on Thursday, but I will be hitting the grocery store tomorrow. If it is a cat 4 when it hits, like they say it may be, AND it stays on track, I have a feeling it could be pretty bad...not Katrina, or even Rita like, but bad anyway.

I second the motion about laundry. Get it done now! Nothing is worse than a pile of stinky towels after a week of no power!

 

[Shadeaux]

Having just been through Hurricane Rita (I live in Lake Charles), all I can say is I hope the storm fizzles out before it goes anywhere near land.

Everyone's suggestions are good ones. If you have a freezerful of meat, be sure nothing will leak. If you lose power for very long, you'll be glad you did. We weren't able to get back to empty our freezer until the power had been off for almost 10 days. Ten day old rotting chicken & meat doesn't give off a very pleasant odor. The chicken had dripped into the freezer and I guess into the insulation. There was no way to get rid of the smell, so we had to get rid of the whole freezer.

Walk around your yard and pick up anything that might become a missile. If there's any chance you'll have to evacuate, make reservations at a hotel NOW. We waited too long and had to go all the way to Birmingham, AL to find a hotel room. Part of the problem with hotels availability is many hotels are still filled with Katrina victims, so this advice may not apply to Florida.

Buy a car charger for your cell phones. Most cell service in the Lake Charles area never went out. My daughter's friend & his family stayed even though there was a mandatory evacuation. He never lost service and was able to call her before, during and after the storm. I was amazed when we came back and saw most of the cell towers still standing. Someone else mentioned buying a regular plug in phone...another great idea. So many people only have cordless phones which are totally useless without power.

After seeing the destruction in Lake Charles and surrounding areas, my best advice is that if they issue a mandatory evacuation, LEAVE!!! It's just not worth taking a chance to try to ride it out.

Everyone stay safe.

 

[AmazingGrace]

Based on my experience with katrina, here's what you should have.
Canned food, things you can eat without heating or water, such as tuna, spam, b'fast bars, pop tarts, dry cereal, crackers, cookies, canned fruit, dried fruit, chips, have plenty of forks, spoons and paper plates and napkins. Lots of powdered drink mixes, gatorade and water. Before the storm, you may want to fill your sinks and bathtubs with water also.

However many batteries you think you need, get two more packs. If you don't use them, you'll be able to use them later.

Baby wipes, hand sanitizer, lots of paper towels and tolilet paper. Cool hint, hand sanitizer cleans eye glasses like you wouldn't believe!

Make sure you draw out enough cash to live on for a week or two. Keep in contact with an out of town family member. keep your cell phone charging until the power goes out. You can change your cell phone setting to search for any available network, that way if your network is down, the you can get another network. If you have a chance, I would avise you to go to target and get the coleman fluorescent lantern. It was pricey, but oh so worth it. Don't forget a battery operated radio or tv. Mine was priceless after katrina.

Make sure you have prescription meds, motrin and anti diarrhea meds on hand. Cards and games are helpful to pass the time.

Honestly, if you can get out, by all means, do!! I stayed for Katrina and it was traumatizing. I still have nightmares and panic attacks. It's so not worth it.
I'll be praying for you all in the path of Wilma.

 

[chyam]

Get gas and food supplies now!
Have an extra propane tank for grill if you don't already. Great for cooking all the stuff in your freezer when the power is still out a week later!

Decide where in your house is the safest should you need to seek shelter. Put supplies there. It turned ugly really quickly last year for Charley and I was throwing things out of a closet to keep my kids safe!

If you have animals make sure you have enough water for them and also have leashes and crates handy. They may get a little edgy as the storem approaches.

Make sure you have a regular(corded phone) for when the power goes out. Our regular phone service stayed on longer then cell and came back sooner.

Don't forget to fill tub with water the day of storm and have a bucket for using to flush. My dogs liked to drink out of tub as well!

I also filled the washer with water, thinking that it would be good enough for the animals to drink or to get some to wash up with if needed.