GROUP BUY How to prepare for hurricanes ? Here are some tips

[Safecastle]

How to prepare for hurricanes ? Here are some tips​

How powerful can hurricanes be ?

Category 5 on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale has no upper hand, on paper. But in theory, winds from a powerful hurricane could blow the scale out of water, scientists say. There is no such thing as Category 6 storm, in part because once winds reach Category 5 status, it does't matter what you call it, it's really, really bad.

Hurricane Andrew was, at the time of its occurrence in August 1992, the costliest hurricane in United States History. This category 5 hurricane hit Florida on August 16, 1992. With winds up to 175 MPH it caused havoc on lands leading to 26 direct and 39 indirect fatalities, total damage $26.5 Billion.

Hurricane preparation checklist:

• Stay informed - Radio TV...
• Use hurricane shutters or board up windows and doors with 5/8 inch plywood
• Bring outside items in if they could be picked by wind.
• Clear gutter of debris
• Reinforce the garage doors
• Turn the refrigerator to its coldest setting in case power goes off
• Fill a bathtub with water
• Get full tank of gas in one car
• Go over the evacuation plan with family
• Learn the location of nearest shelters (check out Safecastle Shelters)
• Store important documents in a watertight container

Supplies:

• Three day supply of water
• Three days of food (canned meat, canned vegetables ..)
• A can opener
• Flashlights
• A battery powered radio
• Extra batteries
• A multipurpose tool
• Cell phones and chargers
• Extra cash
• Sleeping bags
• A map of the area
• A silver foil emergency blanket
• Insect repellent
• Rain gear
• Duct tape
• Dust Masks

Source: ready.gov, National Hurricane Center

Safecastle Shelters...​

​

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[FarmerJohn]

Add:

Flat tub flaps to securely plug tub drains.

Vaseline to apply to underside of above-mentioned plug to insure reliability.

Fill tubs to the max.

Now you have a supply of water that can be used to flush toilets or for other uses if properly disinfected or boiled. Modern low-flush toilets can go for a long time on a tub of water; a lifestyle enhancement in difficult conditions.

 

[Publius]

I sat threw a number of hurricanes and the worst one that hit us in the 80s and If I remember correctly its was named Gloria, so it hit us and took out so many trees it took two weeks for the locals to clear the roads and we went without power for two and half weeks (2 1/2 weeks) and during that time I had a few guests in my home and they felt really lucky to have been stuck at my place as I had most of what many lacked.

Water is one of the biggest things you need to worry about and at that time we had a hand pump to get all the clean water we wanted. Keeping 50 gallons in 5 to 7 gallon containers it not to much and have to plain getting by on less! Much like camping.

Without electric there is no refrigeration so most of what meats that can go bad needs to be cooked and covered up afterwards and it will last longer cooked. With water I was able to wrap pots with wet cloth to help cool the cooked meats.

With home storage canned foods are great and no worries about it going bad anytime soon and dry goods unlike canned foods can be a problem with flooding so think ahead and look for ways to keep dry goods/foods safe.

After a major storm such as a hurricane starting a fire to cook with will be nearly imposable as every thing is soaked to the max.
I had an older LP gas stove in the kitchen as well as Coleman stove and a LP gas BBQ to cook with so cooking and heating water was not a problem for us.

Lighting I had at the time and still have at my home where I'm now living in West Virginia, Oil lamps and yes I do have K-1 to use in them along with this I have Coleman lantern's and not the propane lantern's but the liquid gas fuel/Coleman fuel and the Coleman duel-fuel is the way to go. Coleman also make a Lantern that uses K-1 and its available just use the search engine. Also note there are conversion kits to operate wet liquid fuel stoves to LP gas and it can add flexibility to your setup like grabbing an LP tank from a site thats so trashed no one would care if you carried off a 20 or 100 pound LP tank that was laying around.

 

[WildDaisy]

We've been through Gloria, Bob, Floyd, Jeanie, Frances, Philippe, and Sandy. This is the highest risk we prep for in our home, along with snowstorms.

 

[Petunia]

Three days of food and water is not enough. Too many variables might mean you couldn't leave your home even if stores were open -- looting, downed trees, flooding between you and stores, etc.

Don't count on cell phones working - after Ike we could text (maybe) but calls weren't going through. Since my dgi relatives don't have any other means of communication, our ability to keep in touch was iffy at best.

Need to plan for pets.

I also think people need protective equipment like hard hats, heavy duty gloves, goggles, and tall boots.

Snake bite kit and first aid supplies.

 

[Junkyard Dog]

Great info.. During Sandy fuel was hard to get. Long lines, cars running out and fighting. I was able to drive right by all that nonsense...

 

[teefleur]

Drinkable water and an axe or hatchet in your attic can be a lifesaver in the event of flooding.

 

[ofuzzy1]

There are several old threads on this -- see after action reports.

Tape the door locks with blue painters tape to keep them clean.
I taped some door jams with tape -- you will NOT be able to easily open the door.

Those outside garden lights are great for indoor use, charge them then bring the bases inside and set them upside down for walk around at night type light - recharge daily. dollar tree has some for a ... dollar.

Remember REGULAR BLEACH, NOT scented to purify water - scented has undrinkable chemicals.
-- do a search for how many drops per cup/qt/gal. Let treated water sit at least 15 minutes -- see instructions.

Bring your car beside your house to shield or bring it the garage, fill the gas tank well before the PANIC.

Think batteries.

Please stay off the roads, DO NOT go sight seeing after the storm. You may not be able to refuel.
--- ALL 'dead' traffic lights are 4 way stops! [in FL]

Avoid using candle, and any from of indoor flames.
-- However, we do use the 7day candles in the bathrooms and stick them on the commode lid. Do not do that with cats or small children

Build a solar oven, it may come in very handy.

Do not run the genny late at night, figure out a battery system for night time power.
Running the genny late at night is rude and may lead to unwanted issues.
Change the genny oil every 8-12 hours, yes 8-12 hours for the little ones as they do not have a filter. RTFM. Figure out how to SECURE and soundproof it, avoid unwanted issues.
NEVER RUN A GENNY IN THE HOUSE OR GARAGE, Unless you have a date with the pearly gates.
Get a Carbon Monoxide detector and use it.

Do not bother to tape the windows, it just laves a nasty tape mark on the window. When a window breaks the tape will not help.

More in the old threads.

 

[Safecastle]

Thanks for sharing

This is great info. Thanks for your comments. We will update recommended checklist and product offerings .

 

[blueridge]

All good info above ^^^...with just one additional thought -

Having gone through many hurricanes on the East Coast - can honestly say they're generally far easier to survive than other natural disasters,
i.e. quakes and tornadoes...mostly due to the TIME FACTOR...and assuming you have your wits about you. 'Canes almost always
give a LOT of advance notice and there's lots of things you can (usually) do to prepare or flee from the storm effects. 'Course it
might well be hard to escape from low lying areas and monumental traffic to deal with - which is why it's better to be a day early than
10 minutes too late in your escape plan.

Floods (espec. the 'flash' variety) and ice storms are mighty nasty too -


jmho - btdt

 

[ofuzzy1]

Drinking Water
Any water stored BEFORE the storm is GOOD,
AFTER may be bad and must be treated -- see web for how to treat water with chlorine or filtered.
- I despise when they say boil water, since most people do not have any power!
- They should say treat with UNscented bleach.


Puddles can be a mini-LAKE!

Unless you know the area 100%, do NOT drive through one!!!
You should not be driving around immediately after the storm! Unless you need to do something important.

Last year my neighborhood entrance flooded, there was a line of STALLED cars that TRIED to drive through it.
I knew better.

FRIDGE / FREEZER:
Load them up with small water bottles to act as ice blocks.
Rotate them through as needed.
In 2-3 hours you can "recharge" your fridge twice a day with genny power.
- The other times cover the fridge with blankets -- UNPLUG THE POWER CORD AND TIE IT TO THE HANDLE.
- Remove the blankets before your run it again.
--- This means NEVER EVER RUN THE FRIDGE COVERED!!! YOU WILL KILL THE COMPRESSOR.
- Take a photo of the inside of the fridge before, so you find what you're after quicker.
- Keep the fridge closed, do not dawdle with the door open.

AC:
Run the AC to arctic in the house before the storm. My house stayed cool for 3 days that way.
I put up a "door" tarp to keep the cool air in.

Shutters / Storm Windows Get them!

Laundry / Chores
Do all your laundry before the storm.
Vacuum / Mop

Showers
Take navy showers -- a fast shower at the closest to the water heater bathroom. Save warm water.

I painted a NEW 1-2 gallon pump sprayer flat black and used that to shower with, better than nothing.

 

[Milk-maid]

Add:

Flat tub flaps to securely plug tub drains.

Vaseline to apply to underside of above-mentioned plug to insure reliability.

Fill tubs to the max.

Now you have a supply of water that can be used to flush toilets or for other uses if properly disinfected or boiled. Modern low-flush toilets can go for a long time on a tub of water; a lifestyle enhancement in difficult conditions.

.....or you could always get a 'Water Bob'.

http://www.amazon.com/waterBOB-Emer...=UTF8&qid=1408459883&sr=8-1&keywords=waterbob

It's a tub bladder. Keeps the water clean from dust and debris that might come through windows + walls from high winds. I'd still plug the tub underneath it in case of leakage.

 

[Hansa44]

.....or you could always get a 'Water Bob'.

http://www.amazon.com/waterBOB-Emer...=UTF8&qid=1408459883&sr=8-1&keywords=waterbob

It's a tub bladder. Keeps the water clean from dust and debris that might come through windows + walls from high winds. I'd still plug the tub underneath it in case of leakage.

WOW!! That water bob looks like a fabulous idea. I buy gal. jugs of distilled water and have kept lots of the empty jugs, but the problem is where do you store gal. jugs after you fill them? This 100 gal. Water Bob solves a big problem if there is no water available for a while.