Hurricane Preparedness

Even in Texas, we have to be prepared for hurricanes. Here is a list suggested by an online friend, Brenda.

Brenda’s hurricane preparation tips (seen & heard about, practiced from time to time, and thought about again since what happened along the East Coast with Irene) include:

  • …Move more than 100 miles inland though even that doesn’t always work as we all have seen over and over.
  • Dry cereal (small individual packages can make serving measurements easier)
  • Nonfat dry milk.  Very helpful in dry cereal when all refrigeration (and electricity) has ceased.
  • Old fashioned hand fans or battery operated ones.  They don’t do much but it provides a bit of comfort in the hellish and endless heat that will ensue.
  • After his first few hurricanes my dad insisted on a gas stove (for the rest of his life) so while we had no power for two weeks post-Camille we did have regular meals.  He also had a camp stove that I have now.
  • Tins of sardines and hand operated can openers (plural for when the first one breaks after years of trustworthy work)
  • Milk jugs full of water
  • Outdoor (charcoal) grill; gas okay, too, if you have a new propane tank.
  • …Chocolate will melt but still tastes good.  I cannot remember ever wanting one post-hurricane.
  • Wine does not taste good at room temperature when air conditioning has ceased & room temp is 95.  I have tested that one.
  • Super-long electrical extension cords in case, as friends of mine did, you find that your neighbor on another grid across the street has electricity and is willing to share.  Not sure this is safe but it worked for them.
  • Some people use generators.  That is how my neighbors didn’t lose the contents of their refrigerator during the last one we had.
  • Wash a lot of clothes in case you have to survive for two weeks without washing any.
  • Scan your favorite pictures and documents and upload them at least into emails and DVDs, if you haven’t done so yet, just in case.
    Seems to me this is when laminating back-up copies of pictures seems more important than archiving them.
  • Refresh your first aid kit.
  • Get extra sanitizers like rubbing alcohol.
  • Have that pet carrier handy.
  • Free extra ice
  • Buy extra ice and put it in your usual picnic coolers
  • Lots of batteries and flashlights as you would not believe how easy it is to injure yourself in the dark when no lights whatsoever exist.
  • Return…library books so they don’t charge you…
  • Buy new backpacks in Labor Day sale (seen advertised at Family Dollar for one)
  • Do not feel guilty because that something in the air feeling made you momentarily anticipate the thing as though it wasn’t a pending disaster.  It is atmospheric.  I can sniff one out and stay awake in the night any time the least tropical depression is within about a thousand miles from me.
  • Sometimes pictures can be salvaged, but do your best to keep them from any water damage in the first place.  See this Library of Congress discussion.” http://www.loc.gov/preservation/emergprep/ or http://www.loc.gov/preservation/care/photo.html

Thank you, Brenda, for sharing and being willing to offer a re-publish, too!

Please consider these things along with the typical hurricane-preparedness lists you’ll find to be sure you can endure not just a hurricane that might hit your city, but also one where your city might have to endure the fallout. In Austin, Katrina and Rita both caused population booms.

 

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