Inspired by upcoming Hurricane Season

[mylilnikita]

Hi
Now up until Hurricane Isabel, my family did not plan in the event of a tropical storm, snow storm or hurricane. However when Hurricane Isabel was heading in our direction we took a crash course before it hit. So Floridians and everyone on the East and Gulf Coast, give me your best Hurricane-and other natural disaster preparations and supplies. Thanks.

 

[Aurora63]

Do your laundry before the storm arrives...sounds silly and like the last thing you'd worry about, but it was really nice to have clean towels...I did not do this before Frances, and after 4 days with no power, I was dying for a fresh towel.

Fill old water bottles up and freeze them...they will help keep your freezer cold longer if/when you lose power.

Go shopping for supplies before the season starts..get a little at a time, and stash it away. Ditto for plywood for the windows...Home Depot is a nightmare the day before a storm.

Have a battery powered radio and batteries (duh but believe it or not... ) on hand.

Besides canned goods, make sure you have batteries, flashlights, bottled water, grilling supplies (a charcoal grill and charcoal, lighters, etc.) or a camp stove and fuel.

Don't forget stuff for your pets if you have pets.

If you get a generator, DO NOT hook it up inside the house. Every year someone dies because of this.

Gas up before the storm!

I'm sure someone will add to this. Happy hurricane season!!!

 

[safetymom]

BE PREPARED. Don't be one of those folks running out to the store at the last minute for hurricane supplies. Have water, canned food, batteries, flashlights on hand.

 

[LiteBrite]

As soon as there's any indication that a hurricane could possibly be headed your way, fill the gas tanks of all your vehicles, even the ones you don't plan on taking if you evacuate - gas can be hard to come by after a storm, and lines get really long at the pumps when everybody's on their way out of town. Make sure you have some extra cash on hand as well, probably several hundred dollars. If the power's out in your town, you won't be able to access the ATM.

 

[Tink's Pixieduster]

Great suggestions! I have a few of my own.

We were also hit hard by Isabel (my Mom's power was out for a full week). Based on past experience with lengthy power outages, I filled a bathtub with water before Isabel hit us. This came in really handy because during the worst of Isabel, our county water pumping station failed for 24 hours so there was no water. We didn't drink the tub water, but we did use it to flush our toilets.

3 to 4 days before a storm is predicted to hit, I also buy more bottled water than we are likely to need. This will be used for cooking, washing and bathing, and its amazing how quickly water gets used up, even when it is used sparingly.

I also stock up on all sizes of batteries. If there is a battery size I don't buy, that will be the one I wind up needing.

I have 4 battery powered camping-type lanterns. These make a lot of light and are a lot safer than candles.

And this will probably sound silly, but make sure you have a manual can opener. The electric kind won't work if the power is out.

 

[maleficent1959]

Amen to clean laundry. Fresh towels are nice, and so are fresh undies.

Have a phone in the house that does not require electricity to run. After Ivan we still had phone service for a day or two until Bellsouth's backup ran out of juice. We called many friends' family members to let them know they were okay because our friends only had cordless phones. Cell phone service was extremely sporadic between circuits being overloaded and just being out.

We don't use charcoal, but we keep two full propane tanks during hurricane season. We also keep gas for the generator.

Alot of people down here buy up fresh meat before the hurricane hits and grill it. We buy up fresh veggies and grill them too.

Don't forget water for pets.

 

[mylilnikita]

I had a big supply of plastic cups, eating utensils and plastic plates from my job at at a timeshare and guests would leave them when they left. You just use and throw away. That reminds me, I need to go get lock gas caps from auto store, which during last season, even up here, gas was so high then the hurricanes disrupting the oil rigs, everyone got gas lock caps, but I will know to get them before this season.

 

[maleficent1959]

Just remembered my two big ones from the last hurricane: if you have a baby have plenty of whatever it is they need on hand, be it wipes, formula, diapers, medicine etc., and if you think evacuation may become necessary keep your important papers somewhere where you can grab them quickly and easily.

 

[hiwaygal]

One trick I learned...a few days before the storm is predicted to hit, turn your freezer and refrigerator on their coldest setting, things will stay colder/frozen longer

Get plywood or something else to cover your windows now, while you still can. It's not cheap anymore, but it's cheaper now than it will be in the days before a hurricane.

 

[Alison Wonderland]

Have your important papers in a safe place, and take them with you if
you leave town. This includes home insurance policies, health insurance policies, birth certificates, and that kind of stuff. Also, we were not allowed to go back to our homes and bills were due. So you need the addresses and info to be able to pay your bills like car note, etc.

 

[froglady]

Get a good supply of Damp Rid, and battery powered fans with a spray bottle; the type you use in WDW come in very handy. I also found that a light fragrance spray (such as febreeze room spray) or some of the light body sprays were nice for "refreshing" those sweaty sheets and pillow cases.


We are fortunate that we have a small guest apartment with a galley type kitchen with a small refrigerator, microwave, etc along with a window A/C where we can all sleep. We have a portable generator, which we purchased after losing power for two weeks two years ago.

Our neighbor has an even larger one, which he can move around to run his well pump, so we can get water for bathing and flushing once the tubs and jugs are empty I would still use bottled water for drinking and cooking.

I have a couple of the folding 5 gallon water containers (found in camping supplies) which are easy to store. I have a metal utility shelf, along with two plastic rolling foot lockers where I store my stuff in a spare bedroom. I've also heard people suggest a large rolling trash can which can be grabbed and moved easily if you have to evacuate.

 

[floridafam]

We had an infant during last season so we stocked up on baby food, formula, diapers, wipes, etc. The wipes also come in handy for a lot of other uses.

I stock up on trial size shampoo, deodorant, toothpaste, etc.

Plastic utensils, cups, plates.

The usual-flashlights, batteries, matches.

I put all of our important papers in a plastic bag-insurance forms, ss cards, birth certificates.

 

[DVC Sadie]

After Katrina we will have a whole new game plan. Everyone talked about water, canned foods and such but we always have a box not just for important papers but for jewelry and any other valuables in the house. Don't forget photo albums and any artwork or antiques. I realize now that everything can be washed away so from now on we will be preparing accordingly. We have 6 five gallon gas cans to run a generator and chainsaw. Our list may seem extreme but well now we know what can really happen so we will try to be prepared. Good Luck everyone and I pray that this season is not as bad as last year.

 

[ducklite]

Don't forget a chain and heavy duty lock to make sure your genny doesn't grow legs.

Work gloves and duct tape, plus heavy duty packing tape. Get your blue tarps early, they'll be impossible to find after the storms.

Anne

 

[mylilnikita]

Ducklite: About the genny sprouting legs. Funny story, after hurricane Isabel, we had the generator going on the side of our house.We live on a cul de sac and we know which cars belong and this guy who we don't know gets out of his car and walks up and asks where we got our generator, after that, we blocked in between the houses with one of our cars. I didn't even think apart the tarps, our neighbor had one to temporarily put on part of our roof after they cut the tree off the house.

 

[floridafam]

At the company DH works for, they had a bunch of generators stolen. So they bought the kind that would just power the cable nodes, etc. and not household appliances.

During Jeanne and Frances, they gave most of the employees generators (along with food every night, clothes, shampoo and a paycheck even though they were closed for a week )

 

[ducklite]

I thought of something else--cash! If the power is out, the banks will be closed and the ATM's won't work. Have enough cash to get through a week or so.

Anne

 

[Zandy595]

I agree with others who mentioned doing all your laundry before the storm comes. I was soooo glad I did that before Frances and Jeanne. We only lost power for 6 hours after Wilma though.

Battery powered fans, lanterns and a little B/W TV were really nice to have during and after the storms. We also have a portable DVD player with a battery.

I froze already made hamburger patties and hot dogs before we lost power. I would cook them on the gas grill as they started to thaw. Canned green beans were good because we could eat them without cooking. Individual applesauce cups are good too.

Make lots of exta ice cubes! You'd be surprised how much you miss cold drinks when you don't have them. I thought I'd be fine with room temp water. WRONG! An ice cold drink can make you feel so much better when it's 90+ degrees and no A/C.

Don't forget to bring in little things you have out in the yard. I forgot my birdfeeder and it was demolished to say the least.

Make sure you lock your garage door. Ours has dead bolt type things on either side.

 

[froglady]

I thought of something else--cash! If the power is out, the banks will be closed and the ATM's won't work. Have enough cash to get through a week or so.

Anne

I have a shoebox in my closet where I throw all of my dollar bills at the end of the day. I don't keep anything smaller than a $5, if I have any cash at all. I keep all of the dollars for my hurricane cash, then "spend" it at the end of the season. At the end of my first year doing this I had enough to buy all of my supplies for the next year. The following year I had enough for a generator. This year, I'll have to replace the supplies again before the next season, as a lot of them will expire. This is an easy way to keep my emergency supplies stocked without a financial hit.

 

[DVC Sadie]

We were lucky we emptied our safety deposit box and also got enough cash to last for a month. When we returned the bank was gone. The cash came in handy needless to say.