Hurricane Home Preparedness

Hurricane Home Preparedness is critical to reducing stress when preparing for a hurricane.  So do not wait until the last 24 hours before a hurricane arrives to get prepared.  Shop for your preparedness items all year round to catch sales and so that it is easier on the budget.  Christmas, Fourth of July and Father’s Day sales are great for shopping for emergency supplies on sale.  So take the time to make a list and get prepared!

During the storm and for days after the storm, don’t forget to pay attention to your local retention ponds, creeks, rivers and bayous.  Then know what websites to visit to monitor water height levels and potential for flooding.   Water levels rise for days and weeks after a hurricane has passed, so the potential for flooding is a days event and not just the storm itself.  Know your evacuation route and have hotels in mind that you may need to book as you are evacuating.

Know what you are going to do if you stay, leave, lose power or have to move items higher in your hurricane home preparedness plan.  This is a great time to take inventory of your household items with serial numbers.  Then do not forget to take plenty of pictures inside and out.  I will share my other tips in this post.

 

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Shopping Ideas

Part of Hurricane Home Preparedness is knowing what supplies you need on hand.  Make a list of supplies that your family and pets need for at least 2 weeks and then start gathering supplies at the start of each hurricane season.  So look for long shelf life foods and have a plan to use your freezer food if power is out an extended amount of time and you don’t have a backup generator.  Here are some items I recommend for everyone to put on their list.

• Bottled Water
• Bread – get enough for at least a week – regular bread, hot dog and hamburger.  Sometimes bread is out of stock for 2 weeks.  Bread also freezes well.
• Milk –  keep in mind how you will store it if the power goes out.  You can also freeze milk if you you pour a little out for expansion.
• Room temperature fruit
• Lunch meat
• Can Goods – ravioli, spaghetti, beans, vegetables, fruit
• Snacks – dehydrated foods, fruit snacks, granola bars, jerky
• Dry cereal
• Pet Food
• Blue Tarp
• Duct Tape
• Batteries – AA, AAA, C, D
• Lanterns and flashlights
• Water sealed bags
• Crank Radio
• Temporary Solar Panels
• Ice
• Cooler
• Co2 detectors – use to detect leaks in home
• Gas Cans
• Tub Liner

 

Housekeeping Hurricane Home Preparedness

Here are some tips on what to do as the storm approaches.  Luckily, with hurricanes we have days notice it is coming so you have time to really prepare.

• Do all laundry before the storm hits.  Also, don’t forget about your bedding and all the towels.

• Deep clean your home.  Start with a clean house, so this is one less thing to worry about.
• Clean all pet items and bathe your pet.
• Fill up at least 1 bathtub with water.  Consider getting a bath tub liner for gallons of clean water.  I have a link above.
• Move lanterns and flashlights around home.  So make sure you check the batteries.
• Fill up containers with fresh water for drinking, brushing teeth, washing hands, rinsing off food, etc.  You also need water to flush toilets.
• TAKE PICTURES OF YOUR HOME – inside and out and don’t forget about all vehicles.  If you can, write down as many serial/model numbers as you can.  I keep a spreadsheet with all my stuff.  This ensures you can provide enough information to get your full insurance claim.  You will find you have way more electronics and stuff than you ever imagined.

• Locate your tool bag and make sure basic tools are accounted for and you know where they are like:  hammer, wrench, screwdriver, etc.
• Everyone should take a shower or bath before the storm hits.  You never know what the water situation will be after a storm.
• Locate board games, coloring books and cards to keep kids busy after power loss.
• Take as much trash out as you can on the trash day before the storm.  Also, don’t forget to clean out your fridge.
• If you have to raise items, move them to a second floor if you have one.  But if you only have one level, place printed pictures in water sealed bags and place on kitchen counters, islands, top of kitchen cabinets, closet shelves or any surface that is nailed to the floor or walls.  If your home floods, even heavy curios, refrigerators and tables will end up floating. So take inventory of things that mean the most to you and figure out how to get them up high on a secured nailed down surface.
• Charge all cell phones, laptops, tablets and headphones.  Explain to the kids that they must preserve their devices.  Get them involved in preparing and show them if their device goes below 75%, they must charge it while you wait for the storm.

Kitchen Preparedness

• Make a good, solid meal before the storm.  It could be a few days before you have a good meal again.
• Turn up fridge and freezer to a higher setting.  This will provide more hours if food is colder and it takes longer to defrost.
• Run the dishwasher and make sure all dishes are clean.
• Clean the stove and microwave.
• Make Ice or freeze some water bottles or ice packs.  So have some cold source other than the fridge.  It is hard to get ice after a storm.  You can also consider dry ice but research how to handle before you try to use dry ice and educate your family on the dangers if you go this route.
• Clean out the fridge and freezer and dispose of old items on your next trash day before the storm.
• Do pantry inventory, decide what you have and what things your family can eat with a loss of power.  So make a list of other foods you need and go to the store.
• Freeze water bottles about 1-2 days before the storm and place in a well insulated cooler.  These bottles will stay frozen for a few days if you have a good cooler.

 

Contacts and Information

• Have written contacts for plumber, electrician, sheetrock repair, roofers, fence repair, tree removal, window repair and water clean-up.
• Make sure you have important family and friends written down and stored in a water proof sealed bag or container.
• Emergency numbers – have local number for police, ambulance and fire.  Sometimes 911 is overloaded, so know your local numbers.
• Locate your shut off valves around your home for gas, water, electric.  Then research how to shut each one off and what you need to restore.

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Other Hurricane Home Preparedness

• Know how to open, close and lock your garage manually.
• Review your main electrical breaker box.  Then relabel if you need to, so you know where everything is.
• Back up gas cans – do not store next to anything flammable or things that can create a spark.
• Propane tank – do not store indoors or in the garage.  These can only be stored outdoors in a covered well ventilated area like under a patio.  So they should not be in direct sunlight.
• Move all outdoor plants indoors, so be sure to water the day before if you are storing in the garage.
• Consider on-top of the car rack or behind the car rack if you need to evacuate.
• Have an emergency evacuation storage tote ready.
• Consider investing in a portable generator – this should be done in the off season, so you have time to research and know how to use it.  Then you can determine if you want to hire an electrician to install a transfer switch for ease of use.
• If you have a portable generator, test early in the week.  So make sure you have enough oil, the spark plug is good and you have a fuel source.  Do not wait until the last minute, because if something is wrong with it you will not have time to try to fix it.
• Remove all objects that can become missiles outside.  This includes, potted plants, patio furniture, umbrellas, lawn statues and art.
• Prune any limbs from trees that you think may break and cause damage to your house, power lines or vehicles.

Once the power goes out, unplug all things that are not essential.  This is important for computers, workout equipment, TV’s, gaming, washer, dryer, appliances, etc.  Turn off all lights except for 1-2 to tell when the power comes back on.  Sometimes there is a power surge which can ruin your electrical equipment.  You will need to do this anyway if you are about to turn on a portable generator.

Good luck and get to planning!  So hopefully future disasters will be less stressful because you are prepared!

 

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