Hurricane (or other disaster) Preparation Tips, Tricks, and Traps

[_Keith]

Somehow Keith, I suspect this will only make you stronger and smarter.

Bill, your post in my other thread has given me an idea. Since so many folks here live in Hurricane Country, and with 3 more in the Atlantic I thought we might all share with each other. There are lots of preparation guides floating around, but there are also some things that aren't covered.

So, how about it folks? Add your tips, tricks, and traps here.

[Palmarum]

Great topic idea Keith,

During one power outage after a hurricane, I went to a friends house to aid in cleanup. Inside the house, they had several outdoor solar-powered pathway lights in each room which they were in the process of taking outside. They were using them to light the house at night. They get charged outside during the day like normal, but then they brought them in at night to use as lanterns. I thought it was a great idea. Tons of light, no extra batteries needed. Something I look for at flea markets and garage sales. Make sure you get the solar-powered, rechargeable battery ones and not just the light sensitive, AC powered units.

I have a collected list of ideas, but I found that this one was known by the least amount of people.

Ryan

[palmmermaid]

Ryan,

That's a great idea! I will defintely be on the lookout for bargains on them.

Most of my tips have to do with making sure I have everything I need for my horses. I guess the best thing is to remember that if we loose stuff and are safe, we've survived with all that really matters.

[Jeff Searle]

I know this has been mentioned many times, but I can't express how important it is to gas up the cars well before the storm comes, I remember before Wilma hit, I made sure I got plenty of gas well before hand, and then only to see hundreds of people wait and wait to get their gas. To me, I can find a ton of other things I rather be doing.

Jeff

[_Keith]

Cool. Keep them coming. Here are a couple of little things.

Immediately before and after a storm, insects will be on the move. I stocked up on Deep Woods Off as mosquitos are unbearable cleaning up. I did a perimeter ant and roach spray a couple days before the storm.

Second, we have 4 small dogs. Earlier this year we got nice travel kennels for them. Acutally we use them year long, which is where they sleep at night. Being so busy with hurricane prep I did not get to bath them and wash ttheir beddings. After about 15 minutes in that closed in truck I had already cracked the windows for relief. That is a definite on the list if you have pets.

[www.dadluvsu.com]

I disinfect my guest bathtub (on the third floor fo the house) and fill it with water... If you experience flooding and the water system fails, you then have a pretty good amout of water relatively safe for drinking.

The other thing I do is fill up the boat with gas... It has a 210 gallon tank aboard. With a fuel pump that I pirated from a junk Volvo and some fuel line I can transfer the fuel fairly easily. I can power a 15Kw generator (enough to power my townhouse) for about 14 days with that much fuel.

I usually get the best produce and meats during hurricane blackouts, competition is way down at the store for perishable items... Everyone's buying tuna fish and canned beans, while I'm buying steaks, chickens, fresh fruits, and veggies!

[Tad]

I have made buying a pto driven generator, you get a lot of KW for less$$$ because your not buying an engine, there is alos less worry about it actually working when the moment of truth strikes due to motor problems, I have tractors to spare that are daily drivers and always run.

This is what i did to prepare for dolly,

Diesel, keep about 500 gallons on hand in the bulk tank, truck holds 130 gallons.

water, redneck pool holds 4000 gallons of water for flushing toilets etc, have about 50 gallons of potable on hand

stocked up on rice, beans,and propane. have plenty of meat on hand anyway

ammunition

2 cases of monster energy

The wife and kids were away at the time anyway, so I think that worked out pretty good for if it ever happens again.

I also had a little cash put away for emergency use only!

and a plan B is very important as well,

[weldertom]

I shared this one previously...

In 2004, when we dealt with those storms in Central Florida ( Charley,Frances and Jeanne), We had unused ice chests that I filled with possesions we were unable to take with us ( no more room...) in the car when we fled to St Pete Beach. ( You don't have far to run when you are in Florida.... like a rat in a box....)

Trivia note - Did you know that wherever you are in Florida you are no further than 75 miles from the Gulf of Mexico or the Atlantic ?

We put things in ziplocks/plastic , wrapped and taped them very tightly and placed them in the ice chests/coolers we were not able to take.... duct taped the lids and wrote our address and cell phone number on the outside with a sharpie so that in a worst case scenario, they might be found and returned. I even roped some of them together........ in the house.....

We placed protected items in the washer and dryer as well.....

We also laid all potted plants down on the ground in a group next to a wall......

[PalmatierMeg]

After Hurricane Charley stripped shingles/tarpaper off several places of our 12-yr old roof we used large plastic trash bags to cover bare sheathing to prevent leaks. Then, because tarpaper was almost unobtainable for weeks after the storm, we nailed spare leftover shingles over the tarpaper. We didn't get our new (metal) roof until 11 months after the hurricane, but that "patch job" held until replacement--not a single leak.

[palmislandRandy]

Just finished having $17,000 worth of hurricane shutters installed :drool: I sleep much better!

[palmmermaid]

I am so jealous! We still have the old steel panels that we have to put up. I am hoping next year we can either replace the windows with impact glass or get the accordian shutters. I think the costs are about the same!

We fill up our vehicles and get some cash. I buy a few things to get us through along with some water. We live on a canal so we can use it for flushing toilets if needed. Since we have a well, if we don't have power we don't have water. I want to look into one of those new generators that runs on batteries - quiet and no fumes.

I fill up both bathtubs with water - one for toilets and one for consumption. I also have 2 100-gallon water troughs for my horses. They drink about 5 gallons each a day when it is hot so I need a lot. I make sure I have 10 days worth of feed and hay and extra shavings for the stalls in case the rain gets in.

I keep thinking about this since Ike is bearing down and my husband is out of town. He is supposed to come home late Tuesday night but I don't know about that. I just pray for a sharp north turn or a sharp south turn.

[weldertom]

I just pray for a sharp north turn or a sharp south turn.

+1

I DON"T like Ike

[_Keith]

Buy a couple of small and a couple of large tarps. They are fairly inexpensive with a very long shelf life. And trust me, when you need them, they will pay for themselves 100 fold, sometimes even 1000 fold.

Also, don't forget to have some things for your plants. Stakes is one thing I had some of, but not enough. And something with which to tie the plants to the stakes.

Another thing to have an ample supply of for both plants and people is hydrogen peroxide.

[Palmarum]

One more item everyone should have is an older style, analog telephone that has a standard phone plug. Newer cordless and digital phones will not work without power. In case of power failure, these phones will still operate fine as long as the phone lines are still working. This is a must if you don't already have one lying around in your garage somewhere. Don't just think of it when you need to call someone, as you might not know when the power is off. People call and if it doesn't ring they tend to freak out, so leave one plugged in somewhere. These can be easily found in garage sales and flea markets anywhere, by the hundreds.

Another type of phone that could come in handy, are linesmen test phones. These are a little more difficult and expensive to obtain, but you could test to see what line is working and in addition dial out on any working line, plug or not. Try not to let your phone company see you with one, long story.

There are other forms of backup communication you could go into, CB radio, HAM radio is a good one. There is a HAM radio operator on the street behind me and he was busy during Hurricane Andrew.

Ryan

[weldertom]

One more item everyone should have is an older style, analog telephone that has a standard phone plug. Newer cordless and digital phones will not work without power. In case of power failure, these phones will still operate fine as long as the phone lines are still working. This is a must if you don't already have one lying around in your garage somewhere. Don't just think of it when you need to call someone, as you might not know when the power is off. People call and if it doesn't ring they tend to freak out, so leave one plugged in somewhere. These can be easily found in garage sales and flea markets anywhere, by the hundreds.

Another type of phone that could come in handy, are linesmen test phones. These are a little more difficult and expensive to obtain, but you could test to see what line is working and in addition dial out on any working line, plug or not. Try not to let your phone company see you with one, long story.

There are other forms of backup communication you could go into, CB radio, HAM radio is a good one. There is a HAM radio operator on the street behind me and he was busy during Hurricane Andrew.

Ryan

You are right !

That reminds me........In 2004, While my family and I were at the inlaws on Treasure Island /St Pete beach riding out Francis and Jeanne I found I could call our analog phone answering machine to tell if my power was still on.....I had power much longer than I expected, and I was able to better judge how long my fridge and freezer were off.....As long as the ansering machine picked up, we had power................lol...... I obsessed over that dang machine while worrying about the effect those two storms had on our property....

[_Keith]

I had an extra charged battery for my cell phone and for my computer. I used both during this storm.

I had a Verizon Air Card for my computer AT&T makes them too, but Verizon's is better IMHO. I was able to access the Internet from my home, even though everything else was down. With Internet access I felt very much on top of things as I was able to communicate with the rest of the world, quite literally. On thing to beware of Air Cards is that they are real battery hogs and will cut you laptop battery life in half.

[palmmermaid]

I only have the old style phone that plugs into the wall. It works without power. I also have AT&T DSL that comes with dial backup. I was able to use my laptop with dial backup after we lost power. I also have a car charger for my laptop and am able to charge my laptop from my car.

My blackberry also acts as a modem and I have access to the internet using it. And I have a car charger for it. My AT&T was never down during the last 3 storms we had.