Hurricane Preparedness.

Two more storms on the way the big orange blob by Africa doesn't look friendly.

Is preparedness a real word? It doesn't sound like it. HUNKER DOWN! If you were here for the big five hurricanes you hate me now for that.
 Well, it's hurricane season again and we've got another hurricane with it's sites set on Florida. Well, just left of Florida. Are you prepared? They get people worked up so bad on the TV "We don't want to have what we had in New Orleans." "Be sure you have a three day supply of water and food and flash lights and bla, bla, bla. Over and over again.

Hurricane supplies. That's right we are going to drink the rum. Or some of it.

Truth is here in the smack center of the state a Cat 1 hurricane is more like an afternoon thunderstorm that is off and on all day for a day or two. And what you need to stock up on... well if you buy your supplies now you wont have to worry about them later when a bigger storm comes.
Some people had to go a week or two with no electricity during the big five but that was just pockets of people that were in hard to get to places. Most stores have back up generators now so they can be up and running as soon as their employees can show up for work. If your elderly you may want to plan on getting a hotel for a few days to avoid the heat.  You could try one of those generators but unless you have a really big one they aren't going to be able to run an air conditioner and a refrigerator and a television. So you may want get ready to ruff it out. Here is what you will really need.

1. Alternative light: sure flash lights work great for porting to the potty but for sitting around playing cards you are better off with a hurricane lamp. They will stay lit for ever with out having to refill the oil and are a lot cheaper in the long run. 
2. Games, books and things to do with out the T.V. 
3. Alternative cooking method: We just bar b qued for a couple of days. We kept the meat cold with ice in the cooler and then cooked it all at once so it would stay fresh longer. Worked good.
4. Water: We stocked up on the drinking water but forgot to fill our tub. We were on a well and with no electricity there is no water. We were prepared for water contamination and had plenty of bottled water but the big problem was a lack of toilet flushing water. We ended up going to the local grocery store with our big jugs and they filled them with water from the sink in the back.
5. Gas: I never plan on going any where but you never know so I always fill the car up just in case and then at least I don't have to later. Also the gas trucks wont come for a while after the roads are clear. Here in Florida if the hurricane hits the Gulf side sometimes they close the refinery and gas is hard to come by for a couple of days.
6. Bread: I'd stock up on bread and in fact I have. After the hurricanes the bread was sold out for days. The trucks can't run for a few days till the roads are clear so you have to make due with what the store has and I think everyone around here must have lived on peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Cause it was sold out for about a week after the hurricane.
7. Food that does not require refrigeration: You want to be sure to have enough snack foods. Crackers, chips, cookies. We also get dried fruit, granola bars and some canned meat mostly tuna, and sardines. Maybe a canned ham. And then we can always donate it to a homeless person or shelter after hurricane season if it doesn't get eaten. Duh! can opener to go with the food.
8. Toilet paper: Just because.
9. Ice: of course.
10.  Clean up materials.  Ax or Chainsaw, Rakes, hedge clippers, big black bags.

New toy!

 This year I got a weather radio. It is also a siren, an AM/FM radio, a flash light, and a cell phone charger. It has a USB port. It is also powered by rechargeable batteries that collect electricity by cranking it or by solar power. It has a solar charge panel. So you can just put it in the sun for a day. No cranking at all. It also has a spot to put head phones and a place to attach a regular plug.

But after I got it home I found out you have to insert the rechargeable batteries to keep it charged but the screw on the battery hatch was very small requiring me to go out an buy screw drivers. Always test all your supplies like radios, chainsaws, and generators before the hurricane so you are sure how they work when you need them.


New screw drivers.

You will also want to have first aid supplies on hand. One year during one of the hurricanes, between the waves of rain, my mothers neighbor climbed a tree(100ft high) to saw off the top before the whole tree fell on another neighbors house. A large gust of wind blew and he flew right out of the tree. Luckily his chainsaw was unharmed but he suffered a broken arm. Ambulances and police weren't running so he had to tough it out until the storm let up. (Note to self: put more aspirin in the first aid kit)

After the hurricane everyone always pitches in and helps everyone out. It only takes a few days around here to clear the roads and pick up debris.  Blue tarps show up every where I don't know where people were getting them. I think they were giving them out free last hurricane. Of course,  major repair jobs take longer to clean up. Like trees on houses and roofs ripped up. But in general people came out right after the storm. During the big five people came out every time a band cleared. We picked up the tree branches, sawed down the ones that looked like they were falling then fled back inside till the next wave of wind and rain came. Of course I'm not recommending anyone go out in a storm. And if you climb a tree be prepared to get blown out of it.

 We have had to evacuate before and then drive back as soon as possible. Of course you have your car all packed with stuff to take with you, that's a whole other list. One important thing you want to check for, if you plan to evacuate, is keeping good tires on your car. This year we will be hunkering down at home and my tires are bald as can be. The main threat in driving after a storm  is always a chance of downed power lines. The power companies will cut power to some areas because of the live lines on the ground but that is no garantee the line is dead even days later it may have power to it and is deadly. My best advice is steer clear of them. We have had to drive over a few downed lines but I'm sure the power was probably cut to them. It's super dangerous. Also you want to be careful of debris after the storm. There  maybe some wind causing branches, leaves and stuff  to be still blowing around. Also flooded areas: it may look like a shallow puddle and then be really deep. Rule of thumb there are no traffic lights all lights become a four way stop. Even when green because the lights tend to get all screwy and blink what ever color. Use caution at all intersections. I know a lot of people want to drive around and look at the damage in there neighbor hood. My best suggestion is walking but then you have to be careful of displaced animals so take a big stick.

Oh yeah and don't get too smashed at the hurricane party or the next day when you have to do all that clean up it will be no fun.