Question about being Hurricane Prepared.

[floridaminnie]

Why do they ask for you to have enough food and water for 7 days?

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Based on what is going on in New Orleans...b/c it can take that long for you to be rescued and/or relief supplies to arrive.

I guess it is assuming if you get "stuck" where you are at and no access to obtain supplies after the storm has passed.

ETA: I shouldn't just say NOLA---there is this problem in MS to--falling under the latter reason. We met a family from MS yesterday who lost everything and are going back to salvage what they can. Instead of taking an empty truck they gathered supplies. With nothing open and no gas to drive there...people are running out of stuff if they haven't already and it is precisely 1 week later .

 

[HappyMommy2]

I used to think, "I only need supplies for a day or two, since the Red Cross or someone else will certainly be in to help me by then." Now I realize that I really do need supplies for several days. I have beefed up my emergency kit.

 

[JimMIA]

We always have enough for at least 7 days during hurricane season. In addition to the obvious problems in a catastrophic situation, even in a minor storm you will have major difficulties for several days.

Katrina hit us as barely a Cat 1 storm, so there was not too much of a pre-storm rush. But after the storm, stores had supplies but no electricity and were therefore closed. The same was true of gas stations and restaurants.

You really do need more than a day or two's supply of food, water, batteries, and other essentials.

 

[Talking Hands]

Because it can take up to 7 days for the calvary to arrive! We usually have at least 7 days and frequently 14 days supplies on hand including a propane stove and oven, plenty of batteries for flashlights and radio. Our biggest problem right now is figuring a way to keep my insulin cool for a week.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Talking Hands....have you enough room to freeze large bottles. If you have alot of them--and a 5-day cooler....you might make 7 days with a large. cooler just dedicated to keeping your insulin cool.

1-2-litre bottle is still mostly a block of ice in our cooler after 24 hours.

 

[DMRick]

Here in the Northeast it's always suggested we have several, if not more days of food and water to sustain us. We've had some storms that have knocked our electricity out for days, and not been able to get out of our house because we hadn't been plowed. When people get meals on wheels, they bring them items that do not have to be heated at the begining of the winter season, just in case no one can get to them. Some have no way of heating their homes when this happens and have water pipes break, so those that live in the boonies often have portable RV type toilets. We're lucky to have wood to burn to stay warm, and many people own kerosens heaters. I know how I've felt to be trapped for a few days, I can't even imagine if there was water rising in my home. This doesn't happen to us anywhere as much as those facing hurricanes have had big hits.

 

[floridafam]

I would have at leat 7 days worth of stuff-probably more.

I'm just not sure how much to buy for our storm supply. We would evacuate so do we really need 7 days worth of stuff? We just would not stay here.

Would it be better just to have a ton of cash on hand to buy stuff whereever we happen to evacuate to?

I'm trying to find the right balance. I don't want to have too little but I don't want to go overboard.

 

[totalia]

Perhaps a week might be good to gather ahead of time. At least that would allow you to save money that you may need later if your place of work disappears.

 

[LisaR]

After Hurricane Frances, it took most of the grocery stores in my area a week to open back up. When Walmart is closed for almost a week, you know it is bad! Most places around here did have their act together much quicker after Hurricane Jeanne. I had just moved to FL a few months before the hurricanes. I was amazed that none of the stores around here had back-up generators since it was common place for the stores up north to have them.

Lisa

 

[floridafam]

There are just so many things to think of but I think we are on top of most of them.

When Frances and Jeanne hit last year, DH didn't have to report to work for 1 week after each storm.

They did supply us with a generator, etc.

If they were destroyed, most people would go to other systems.

I guess I feel pretty lucky. We're stocked up and we've put cash away.

I know we would evacuate and hope for the best. I feel sorry for the many people who had no way to evacuate or stock up on diapers, formula, food, etc.

 

[LisaR]

I would have at leat 7 days worth of stuff-probably more.

I'm just not sure how much to buy for our storm supply. We would evacuate so do we really need 7 days worth of stuff? We just would not stay here.

Would it be better just to have a ton of cash on hand to buy stuff whereever we happen to evacuate to?

I'm trying to find the right balance. I don't want to have too little but I don't want to go overboard.

We evacuated to Naples for Frances. I really didn't know what to expect but assumed the grocery stores would have a good supply of food. While they did have food available, they were out of bread, water, milk, etc. The basics. Thankfully we had most of the essentials with us. When you think about it, a ton of people are evacuating to the same place so they will be low on certain items. I know all the motels in Naples were booked solid and there were a bunch of people that were sleeping in their cars in parking lots while we were there.

Lisa

 

[Talking Hands]

We are far enough inland that we would not evacuate in most situations. Part of the reason we have a larger supply than most. After Andrew it was more than 2 weeks before the grocery stores were back up except for having truck loads of ice delivered everyday. Even after Katrina it was 2 days for the stores to open and then they were very short of food and had to dump much of the frozen, dairy and deli because of spoilage.

 

[floridafam]

We evacuated to WDW after Jeanne and stayed there before Frances because we couldn't get into town.

I'm sure we would need a good amount of stuff in case we could not find a hotel room.

I did order some of the ready to feed bottles of formula the other day for our infant DD. All of the footage of the starving babies in NO just got to me. I just can't imagine what they went through.

We donated to the Red Cross today at the mall and they were handing out booklets of what to include in a hurricane kit. There are a lot of items on there but we have most of them.

The only way my parents could reach us last year (after coming back from WDW) was in our vehicle. It has OnStar and we were able to call them and they could call us. The XM emergency channels were nice to have, as well. They gave a lot of traffic and weather information.

I hope we can get through this season without another major storm.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

The only way my parents could reach us last year (after coming back from WDW) was in our vehicle. It has OnStar and we were able to call them and they could call us. The XM emergency channels were nice to have, as well. They gave a lot of traffic and weather information.

I hope we can get through this season without another major storm.

OT--You can make phonecalls with onstar?

 

[goin2disneyagain]

OT--You can make phonecalls with onstar?

Yes, you can.

 

[floridafam]

LisaLovesPooh,

Yes, OnStar Personal Calling. The phone button is right next to the OnStar button.

I was SO glad to have that last year. There was some slight static on the line immediately after the hurricane but it went away.

It was nice to be able to walk out to the car and call my parents or the Dr. when DS got sick or DH's employer (cell phones were having a major problem.)

 

[DawnCt1]

We are in Ct, hardly hurricane country, although we did experience Gloria about 13 years ago. Could I get out of my house in a couple of hours? Yes. Could I be prepared to take what I want to take? No. I have thought about this and this winter, my project will be to organize the "things" that are irreplacable. There are only a few things that come to mind. My mother's china. I will have the appropriate boxes to pack it up this winter. Family photos. Those are irreplacable. I have three generations of those. I will organize those, scan them into discs and take the "hard copies". Then of course, my dogs. I will not abandon my dogs. The snake (ball python) can drowned any minute for all I care. In fact, I have considered teaching him to swim in the winte but he belongs to DS. The "next big thing" may be the mega tsunami that his the east coast from the Canary Islands.