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Preparedness

Basic Hurricane Preparedness

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While many preppers look to North Korea and a zombie apocalypse to prepare let’s not forget events like hurricanes are much more likely to endanger us. If you live in an area prone to hurricanes preparing is a common-sense step to take. With hurricane season upon us let’s review some basic tasks to prepare.

Before a Hurricane:

  • Secure your property. Storm shutters offer excellent protection from flying objects.
  • Secure your property. Nailing plywood over windows when an impending storm is coming also provides protection against debris sent airborne due to high winds. Have the plywood stored “just in case”.
  • Secure your property. Special straps are available to better secure the roof to the framework of the house.
  • Clean out all gutters and drains. This will help evacuate heavy rainfall away from the house.
  • Make a plan. Look at the design of the house for an area that everyone can go to if things get dangerous. An inside area away from exterior walls is best.
  • Stock up. Hurricanes can knock out power for weeks. Store extra food and water.  Consider how food will be cooked if the power is out. a Coleman Camp Grill with extra fuel is inexpensive and works well.
  • Prepare. Think about supplies needed to go camping. Blankets, flashlights, batteries, etc.
  • Prepare. Store extra fuel away from the house as if a major power outage in the area occurs fuel will be difficult to obtain.
  • Prepare. Maintain a good first aid kit.
  • Prepare. Keep extra cash on hand as credit card machines may not work.

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During a Hurricane:

  • Listen to the radio or watch TV to stay up to date on conditions approaching your area.
  • Install shutters or boards over windows.
  • Shut off the water supply going to the house.
  • Clean and then fill the bathtub. This will provide an emergency supply of water.
  • Walk the property and pick up anything that may get blown around./ Items include lawn chairs, toys, yard tools, trash cans, etc.
  • Stay away from windows and doors.
  • Evacuate if instructed to do so by the authorities.

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After a Hurricane:

  • Keep listening to the radio for information.
  • Be mindful of dangers from fallen power lines. Stay away!
  • If cell phone service is not working try texting as sometimes a text will go through when a call won’t.
  • Be careful if the winds calm – this could be you are in the eye of the storm with more danger approaching.
  • After the hurricane caution must be taken while walking the property. Tree limbs can fall from above. Sharp objects may be everywhere. When moving debris wear gloves.
  • Watch for areas that are flooded. Do not drive through large puddles as the vehicle may stall and car swept away.
  • If power is out only open the refrigerator/freezer as needed. Food can be kept cold for hours if they are kept closed.
  • If there is damage to the property take pictures to document the situation.
  • Use extreme caution if using candles – FIRE HAZARD.
  • Be aware that running tap water may be contaminated.
  • If your property experiences damage contact insurance company.
  • As soon as possible let your family know you are safe.

The most important thing going through a hurricane is to be safe. If everyone makes it with their health or even minor injuries be happy. Property can be repaired and rebuilt. People cannot.

Take care.

Rourke

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6 Comments

  2. CaptTurbo says:

    SW Florida here. I’ve been through quite a few. I have battery backed solar power which is really a Godsend after the storms. So far my panels have survived every storm (knock on wood) and provided me power for weeks until the utility gets the power restored.
    The power system helps ensure my two big freezers can hold my food which is huge. I also have a gas genset which I run at night during those times so I can run a window AC unit to have a cool bedroom to sleep in. The 4 ton central air would crush the battery bank pretty quickly so it is not wired to the critical load panel.
    Another important part of my survival system is the Berkey Royal water purification system. In all the storms to date I have not lost city water but should that happen I can use water from any source to make safe drinking water and trust me, after a hurricane there is plenty of water everywhere. I use the Berky for all my potable water all the time anyway.
    Beyond that I have several electric smokers and stick burner for th cooking. I actually cook all my meat in these smokers all the time so it’s not even a change of lifestyle for me.

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  3. Ken says:

    Living south of Miami, hit by Andrew in 1992. Lost a lot of my roof, storm ripped some shutters off, no power for over 30 days, I’m more prepared now except for major flood (now more likely as sea levels rise). Good luck getting insurance payoffs now, Flood ins says Homeowners should pay and vice versa, could take years to resolve.

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  4. Stacy says:

    South Central Texas. Probably the best thing we did was put a Generac on our shop which houses are freezers in a small kitchen area with a window AC unit. If it gets unbearably hot we just blow up an air mattress and sleep in the kitchen. I take that back that’s a second best thing we did the number one best thing we did was put a hand pump on our well. I cannot over recommend the simple pump System. It’s so easy very cost-efficient to install in fact when they drilled my well they installed it for me. We have not had to use it in an emergency but every now and then we go in and just pump it 10 strokes and we got water!

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  5. John Hancock says:

    Southwest Florida Fort Myers here, lost everything on august 4th 2004 when charley put Estero island under water, then in 2005 Wilma decided to repark my 24ft boat with inboard v8 in my kitchen luckily I had that big heavy engine in it, I was at home and watched it happen it picked up the boat dragging the tail end around it just didn’t have enough strength to pick up that rear wand thankfully I had structures on all sides of tbe back yard keeping most of the wind strength at bay but it still found enough power to drag that boat 60 ft after several try’s it did finally park it in my kitchen.. at this point of living in Florida for three years I was seriously questioning my decision to live here, but the salt life does have a lot of appeal as well, so I stuck it out, there were other hurricanes over the years but I found I was becoming accustomed to danger until a giant monster called Irma came to town, although I didn’t have any major damages, sitting at home through that storm my house made noises and did things that truly scared me for the first time, this storm was different, honestly every hurricane I’ve ever been in is truly unique, just when you think you know what these things are you are quickly re-educated, the categories are such a lose term description of these monsters one category five storm can be a mouse compared to another category five storm, the differences is power is unfathomable, after erma I spent 200,000 on new bug out preps, started with a 80,000 one ton truck, then fifth wheel camper five slides, then ultra light trailers.. I completely rethought my entire system my awesome Jeep Wrangler I’d built for years went to the wayside immediately, bugging out in a jeep is very romantic just like a bug out bag on going into the woods Rambo style but it quickly falls apart when you start thinking in real world practically, I mean how romantic is it leaving all those preps you’ve spent ten years building up? Yep, it adds a super suck factor to it doesn’t it… here was the problem with Erma, the forecasting sucked at best, one day they say it’s hitting east coast so everyone booked a hotel for several days on the west coast next day the day it’s hitting west coast…. So everyone on west coast booked all the hotels on the east coast for several days, this went on unto the day it arrived back and fourth forecast, what a cluster fck, this storm is now bigger than the state of Texas a couple days away now, getting footage of it obliterating the islands near us, shit was starting to get real, friends of mine who have never left were calling me saying nope their out! One of the calls was from my ex-wife saying she was going to get on 75 north and stop when she found a available hotel, I said I might leave as well to call me and let me know where there was rooms, at this point I was trying to get a small trailer hooked up to jeep, unfortunately I did not maintain this smaller trailer and tires were dry rotted I had another 6 x 12 but loaded that jeep isn’t made for pulling that much weight, so I realized if I left I was leaving all my preps, that hit me like a ton of bricks, all that planning, all that money and I was being schooled like amateur hour… it was very sobering, back to my wife the storm was now 10 hours out, last chance to leave it had been two days since my ex left with no word from her (was thinking maybe she wanted to get rid of me for good at this point) so I called her, asked her wth I thought you were going to call me, and she said they had just now found a room in Macon northern Georgia..and that they had stopped at a bunch of places and called countless hotels trying to find anything before they found that place, Macon to put into perspective is Probably 750 to 800 probably 750 miles away from me, so that rules out that bug out option… the storm wound up hitting my town dead on, in fact I have lots of screen shots of that blue dot 🔵 on google maps right in the eye of erma as it crossed over us, storm was about 8 hrs long… weeks went by before power was restored I shared videos of sewage back flowing out of man hole covers, filling ditches… a hurricane is no joke, and you never know how bad it’s going to be. My ex lost the roof on her house during the storm so it was a smart mover her getting out, me and my crews covered it with tarps but that would have been one hell of a ride being in that house, tbe damages were incredible!

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  6. CaptTurbo says:

    Irma really was a cluster. They kept moving the cone west in tiny increments with every report with the starting point East of Miami until it bulldozed right up US 41 (Tamiami trail). NBC Fake “News” and weather botched it thee entire duration and then later claimed to have done an incredible job of forecasting the track. They totally failed on that.
    I bugged out at 1:00 am in the morning in advance of it’s arrival. My chocolate lab and I drove all the way to Charleston, S.C. to stay with some friends who invited me which took more than 13 hours since the evacuation crowd was huge.
    It turned out that Irma tracked right up the coast and left utter destruction all the way up. Charleston had tornado warnings popping off every 15 minutes and they had the greatest storm surge in their history.
    The trip back home took 13 and a half hours with breathtaking scenes of total destruction all the way back. I was trying to decide which exit to take as I came down 75 around midnight. There were no lights and the exit signs were all folded flat. I guessed the correct one and it was surreal coming in from 75 traveling west to where I live just off Sanibel Island, driving the whole way with no lights beyond my own headlights, driving around hundreds of trees and other obstructions. I promise you, your own home town will seen as foreign as another planet under these conditions.
    One other note. Charley was worse and Charley arrived on a Friday the 13th. I still have some damage from Charley since the insurance company defrauded me completely. The name rhymes with Bait Charm. 😉

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