Unique/Creative Hurricane Prep Tips

[wafbwx]

Hi All,

As we get closer to the start of Hurricane Season, I'm looking at compiling some unique and/or creative hurricane prep tips for a story. Most residents in hurricane prone areas like ours (south Louisiana) know the standard tips...getting water, batteries, generators, etc. But I'm looking for some tips that maybe people haven't heard before. Let me know if you have anything along these lines that you'd be willing to share.

Thanks!

Steve Caparotta
WAFB-TV
Baton Rouge, LA

[Hurricanehink]

Be prepared for being bored. My family had to evacuate for Hurricane Irene last year, and we had a power outage for about 12 hours. That's nothing compared to other people, so we all had some beer and enjoyed a game of monopoly. We all brought plenty of stuff to do, in the event we were without power for a few days. Nothing is worse in the summer than being bored without electricity in 2012.

[vbhoutex]

I've also copied this into the Hurricane Preparation forum for people to see. It may help generate more responses.

[brunota2003]

I don't know about other families, but we had a couple tough boxes (a type of storage bin) for our hurricane supplies. One had our actual survival type stuff in it (batteries, flashlights, etc), and the other had the things like games and puzzles in it. This allowed us to put them in the closet and keep them out of the way, while knowing we were ready.

For food, we kept more canned food than needed, and just rotated the older stuff out and ate it throughout the year. This always kept the food the freshest.

I would definitely recommend a "Go Bag", though. Keep some clothes and supplies in it, so if you need to get out of dodge in a hurry, you can just grab them and go, and know you have much needed supplies on hand. We also had the water bottles with the heavy duty filtration systems...if we ran out of clean water, we could turn dirty water into clean water!

[CrazyC83]

* Look beyond the headlines and beyond the forecasts. Be ready to study deep into models and make calls on your own.

* Learn your local geography. Sometimes a small difference in location can make a major difference in impact, particularly in terms of winds.

* Ignore anyone who says "it can't happen here". It definitely can.

* Friends in other areas also dealing with the same storm - either concurrently or shortly before/after - can be a major help when you deal with it. I learned that myself with Irene - tried to mostly talk to others who had just gone through it. Such can be tough to maintain when you don't have power, but if you can find a way, it works well.

[Nikki]

We keep all of our very important papers and pictures that are not replaceable in a very thin hard plastic tote that can be grabbed in the blink of an eye to run out the door.

We also have grab n go bags like that was suggested and ever since Hurricane Rita and being stuck in traffic for hours/days, I now also have a grab n go back with snacks and canned meats etc. and I make sure the kids each have a insulated lunch bag with drinks, fruit, etc. I also make sure I have travel bowls for the animals and have their food in grab bags as well, all of this is stored away unless our area is threatned, then I place it by the front door (I am lucky I have extra room by my front door where it is virtually out of the way).

If we decide to stay, which we have not yet , I have endless amounts of flashlights and games all kinds of games, cards, boards etc so that the kids won't get too bored and we have TV's that will run without electricity so at least they can watch movies...

These are some awesome ideas being posted!!

[WX183]

Freeze 2, 1 gallon jugs of water. When the power goes out leave one in your freezer and place the other in the refrigerator in order to keep them cold longer. When they do begin to thaw you have cold drinking water.
For those that have to evacuate. Purchase collapsible water containers and only fill them when you get to the place your evacuating to. Don't tote heavy bottles or gallons of water.
Purchase a sun shower and leave it outside so the sun can heat your shower water. Also one of the most important items, battery operated fans.

[Florida1118]

These I learned from Bryan Norcross...
1) Put any important documents, items, or anything else in your dishwasher. A dishwasher is obviously waterproof (Needs to keep the water inside, in turn it would keep the water outside). It is also protected by your counter top should your roof come caving in.
2) Also be sure to take all electronics off the ground and move them up high.
3) If the storm is expected to blow out the power, turn off your alarm. It has happened to me before where the power comes back on and the alarm will go off continuously.
4) Be sure to keep exits clear (Generally at least 2), so you can get out in an emergency.
5) Wrap anything in plastic that could possibly get wet, such as furniture, important items, etc. Be sure to double or triple wrap.
6) Try not to use candles in a hurricane when the power goes out. If a strong gust blows out a window and overturns your candle, not only is outside your home dangerous, the inside now has smoke and flames; and the FD will not respond to help.
6b) If candles are necessary, place them in the center of tables, and poor liquid wax from your candle on the table where the candle holder will be; you may also tape it. At least this way the candle will not be as likely to to tip and start a fire.
7) Be sure to back up your computer. In the event it was destroyed, you at least have all your computer files.
8) Never throw patio furniture in your pool. Take it inside, as it will just rust and damage your pool.
9) If you have pets, be careful when you open your door. The low pressure and storming may cause them to dart out unexpectedly.
10) VIDEO TAPE. Video tape your entire property, inside and out prior to the storm for insurance purposes. If you have no documentation of your property, it will be very difficult to remember every item you lost.
11) Try parking your car in a parking garage, or on the side of a building opposite the direction strong winds will come from. Park it as close to the center of a wall for the best chance of survival.
12) Get cash as ATM's won't work after the storm.
13) Do laundry and wash your dishes prior to the storm, as you likely wont get a chance to do so for a while.
14) Identify mattresses you can get to easily should your house start coming down. Use them to cover your head and protect yourself.
15) Clean your gutters, on your house and on the street. Work with neighbors to help reduce as much blockage as possible to help prevent flooding.
16) If you have a screened in porch, cut the screen. Cut three of the four sides to let it flap in the wind. This allows wind to flow through, and it is easier to fix and repair than having the entire cage ripped from your house and possibly flying into your car, a neighbors house, etc.
17) Be sure you have ample mosquito spray and sunblock for after the storm; mosquito's love all the water.

Hope these help. Again, these were from Bryan Norcross's brain, not mine

[SunnyThoughts]

We've always used the empty plastic milk jug containers that way also. Just keep them in the freezer and it will definitely keep your frozen foods longer after the power goes out.

Also fill up your bathtubs with water, comes in handy for flushing toilets and or/ washing clothes.

Our battery operated camping lanterns came in so handy too, We would sit one in the main living room and the kids sat around in the floor playing board games.

The most important thing I own though, to help in the aftermath is an old fashioned plug in phone jack telephone. I paid a whopping $3 for it at the dollar store. Lil banana like phone, that will WORK with no power. Cell phones are pretty much useless with the towers down. (yes I still have a home phone line, and I keep it just for this reason)

[brunota2003]

Another one is if you are going to stay, and after the storm you want to let your family out of state know you are safe (you should always notify someone away from the impact area about your plans and contact info, whether you stay or go...so someone is tracking what is going on!), do not try calling on your cell phone! If the towers are up (they do stay up sometimes, with onsite gennys), all you are doing is tying up the lines and preventing that important 911 call from getting through. Instead, send a short text...less consuming on the towers, and still gets the point across!

The hard wired phone is a good idea, too. My parents have dial up and when the power goes out at their place, they can still get online to look at the weather on the laptop (during storms and such, not necessarily hurricanes)!

[CrazyC83]

DO NOT underestimate lower category storms as well! Don't shrug off and say "ah, it's only a Category 1 (or 2), it won't do too much". Any degree of hurricane conditions is extremely dangerous, and even tropical storm conditions can do significant damage, especially to trees and power lines. Of course, major hurricane conditions will likely cause extreme to catastrophic damage, but few areas will experience such in a landfalling major hurricane.

Since 2006, no major hurricanes have hit the US, yet storms since then have done over $55 billion in damage. The same is true in other regions - 2010 had only one landfalling major hurricane (and barely so), yet, outside the US, billions in damage was done from numerous storms. In 2011's Irene, only a sparsely populated area of eastern North Carolina saw hurricane conditions, yet over 15 million people lost power (estimate from over 7.5 million customers) - most of which never saw sustained winds anywhere near 74 mph.