Prepping for a Hurricane

It is hurricane season again.  Hurricane Dorian is expected to give us quite a beating in Florida.  If you live in Florida you are already preparing for this storm.  If this is your first storm you may have gotten advice from neighbors and "old-timers" about what to do and what not to do.  Everyone likes to tell you their story.  Many will tell you not to worry, nothing will happen.

For one family I know, this will be their first major storm.  They just moved to Florida and they feel they are ready.  They have basic supplies, food, water, batteries.  They have a plan.  They plan to leave town.  They made reservations at three different hotels in three different areas and plan to leave. They made these reservations a week ago when Dorian was just a little storm "not likely to hit mainland".  They were smart.  What they weren't smart about is that they will find themselves stuck in traffic, lots of it, if they wait too much longer.  My suggestion to them is if you are going to leave, leave now before they start evacuation plans.

A couple years ago I heard of incredible traffic jams, people sitting for hours on the highway, going nowhere and running out of gas.  I heard of shelters already full.  If you plan to leave, leave early.

Most Floridians will stay home and shelter in place unless they live in a highly "floodible" area or right on the coast.  What do they need?  How do they prepare?

Remember you need 5 things always.

1. Water
2. Food
3. Shelter
4. Alternative Cooking
5. Alternative Lighting

Check out my other articles on basic supplies.

Other things that make life a bit easier.
1. Emergency repair kits. This would include duct tape, sheets of heavy plastic, tarps, extra wood (Plywood, 2x4s, etc for minor repairs and quick fixes)
2. chainsaw - to remove fallen trees, limbs, etc.
3. Ice.  If you can get extra ice or make extra ice now, you will be happy you did.  Fill coolers with ice to keep food cool after you lose power.  As close to the beginning of the storm my husband would go buy 50 lbs of ice and put it in our freezers.  After a few hours with no power he would get the ice and fill coolers with it and we would clean our our fridge.  This ice kept our perishables cool for a few days.  Eventually we would add frozen foods from our freezers too to continue to keep our food cool as we ate through our food.
4. Generator - If you can afford it, buy a generator.  You will be so happy you did.  With this you will need gasoline, so don't forget that.  Running this a couple hours at a time help with the monotony of not having power.
5. Heavy duty trashbags.  You can get these at Lowes or Home Depot.  These help with clean up, trash, etc.
6. Paper plates and bowls, plastic forks, spoons, knives.  Life is so much easier when you don't have to hand wash so many dishes.