Hurricane Preparedness: How to be more prepared for natural disasters.
Moving to Florida for college gave me not only an institutional education but an education in life in more ways than one. Hurricane preparation became a necessity while living in Florida from June to December. Half the year! I have pictures of setting up all my dorm room belongings on my built-in desk for fear of flooding than high tailing it out of
Later in life, I moved to Charlotte, North Carolina. I was safer than the Atlantic coast of Florida, yes, but not out of danger completely. Hurricanes hit the Carolina cost all too often and where do they go, straight through the state. We get hit with a numerous amount of rain and wind.
In fact, Hurricane Florence hit us in 2018 and dropped a shear 12 inches of rain in my area in nearly two days. It caused massive flooding where bridges and roads were either closed down or washed out and destroyed altogether. There are numerous power outages and boil water warnings that can last for weeks.
With all my experience, I have come up with a simple checklist that I do to get ready for a disaster like a hurricane.
Hurricane Preparative Checklist
- Clean the house from top to bottom. More than likely, you will be stuck in the house for a few days and will lose power. Don’t you want to be in a clean house, vs a messy one that you have no electricity to clean?
- Vacuum all carpets and floors thoroughly.
- Wash all dishes and clean out the sink.
- Clean out the fridge by throwing away old food you won’t eat. Eat up any food also or pre-cook meals to have after and during the storm.
- Wash all laundry to have clean clothes for a few days.
- Stock up on liquids and nonperishable foods.
- Bottled water for drinking, cooking, and washing. I save all my older plastic gallon water jugs to fill up from the sink before the storm that way I save money.
- Alcohol to pass the time if that is something for you. Remember, stores will most likely be closed days after the storm.
- Nonrefrigerated milk or juices for the kids and adults to change it up from boring water.
- Charge all electronic devices before the power goes out.
- Charging things like battery backups, cell phones, computers, and emergency radios are essential for emergencies. Try not to use your cell if you don’t need to that way your battery lasts.
- Hopefully, it is sunny before the storm to charge any solar lanterns or flashlights.
- Fill up at the gas station.
- Fill up all your cars and trucks with gas for easier transportation options, if needed. Gas is sometimes hard to come by after a devastating hurricane.
- Fill up any generators with gas or have a good stockpile of gas cans filled up for that what-if scenario.
Besides hurricane preparedness, check out how we lived super comfortably with no electricity for over 48 hours in the dead of winter.
