A.T.Hagan
Inactive
I'd like to keep this thread specific to hurricane prep and what new lessons we've learned or maybe relearned now that we're into the recovery phase of Hurricanes Jeanne, Frances and Charley.
So, what will you do for the next hurricane that you didn't do for these two?
What won't you do for the next one that you didn't do for these two?
What permanent or long-lasting changes will you make to your home, business, whatever to help you better survive the next storm?
For myself these are the following changes or new things we're going to do as we are able to afford them.
#1 - We're going to get some form of permanent storm shutter or panels for the house. I've put up plywood twice now in a month to cover my windows and would have to do it a third time were I to take it down now only to have Ivan come this way (if he does). I don't know what system we're going to go with yet, but I want something that doesn't take so long to get up. I'm thinking corrugated aluminum storm panels, but I haven't begun to research them yet. This season may be a fluke, or it may be the norm for the next however many coming years.
#2 - This probably wouldn't apply to anyone not in similar circumstances, but in the future if I'm going to be working with county emergency management I'm going to have more of my storm preps broken out, ready to go, and in place before the storm hits. Doing twelve hour shifts at the EOC then trying to catch up at home is a poor plan. Need to teach my wife more about how the generator and propane gear works so she can do some of that herself when I'm not home.
#3 - I'm going to buy one or more of those shower bag things that you can fill with warm water and hang from some handy high place. Should be easier to bathe than trying to use a bucket.
#4 - Need more battery powered area lighting. I've got flashlights aplenty. What I really want are LED lamps that I can run off batteries, turn them on then set them down on a table, dresser, or something so that I can illuminate a general area. We're getting through this whole thing without resorting to candles, oil lamps, or anything else that has to be lit with a match (and that produces heat!) but I think I can do better still.
#5 - Need to not put quite so much chlorine in the water barrels. This time around I got a bit too much in and using the water to bathe with is like bathing in an over chlorinated pool. I'm going to use the test kit from the pool to measure the chlorine content when I fill the barrels. We've got plenty of drinking water.
#6 - One way or the other I've got a half a dozen trees too near my power lines that are going to get taken down. Since my power lines are snapped at the moment I'm tempted to simply drop the things now and cut them up later after we see what Ivan is or isn't going to do.
#7 - I'm going to increase my fuel storage. I won't have used half of my fuel storage from Frances/Charley, but I could have used a lot more of it if we'd taken a more severe hit. For a couple of days gas was hard to come by here because either the stations had no power or they'd sold out.
All-in-all we've weathered this storm better than we've ever weathered one before but I think I can do better still. If I could just come up with some way to afford to buy one I've already sold my wife on the idea of getting a bigger, more durable generator that we could run the house a/c on. Wouldn't need to run it 24 hours a day, just maybe three or four hours would make sleeping at nights more tolerable and improve everyone's disposition.
Having another potential hurricane to worry about right on the heels of the one that just blew though complicates matters. The air circulation in the house would be much improved if I took the wood off the windows, but I don't want to do that if Ivan is going to come this way because I'd just have to put it all back up again! Same for clean-up. I could put several days in on cleaning up what was blown down only to have Ivan come and do it all over again so I'm just going to leave the stuff laying until he makes up his mind where he's going to go. I'm of the mind that he's going to go to Louisiana, but only God knows for sure where a hurricane is going to go so we're trying to cover all bets here.
You all who have been impacted by the storms what have y'all learned?
.....Alan.
So, what will you do for the next hurricane that you didn't do for these two?
What won't you do for the next one that you didn't do for these two?
What permanent or long-lasting changes will you make to your home, business, whatever to help you better survive the next storm?
For myself these are the following changes or new things we're going to do as we are able to afford them.
#1 - We're going to get some form of permanent storm shutter or panels for the house. I've put up plywood twice now in a month to cover my windows and would have to do it a third time were I to take it down now only to have Ivan come this way (if he does). I don't know what system we're going to go with yet, but I want something that doesn't take so long to get up. I'm thinking corrugated aluminum storm panels, but I haven't begun to research them yet. This season may be a fluke, or it may be the norm for the next however many coming years.
#2 - This probably wouldn't apply to anyone not in similar circumstances, but in the future if I'm going to be working with county emergency management I'm going to have more of my storm preps broken out, ready to go, and in place before the storm hits. Doing twelve hour shifts at the EOC then trying to catch up at home is a poor plan. Need to teach my wife more about how the generator and propane gear works so she can do some of that herself when I'm not home.
#3 - I'm going to buy one or more of those shower bag things that you can fill with warm water and hang from some handy high place. Should be easier to bathe than trying to use a bucket.
#4 - Need more battery powered area lighting. I've got flashlights aplenty. What I really want are LED lamps that I can run off batteries, turn them on then set them down on a table, dresser, or something so that I can illuminate a general area. We're getting through this whole thing without resorting to candles, oil lamps, or anything else that has to be lit with a match (and that produces heat!) but I think I can do better still.
#5 - Need to not put quite so much chlorine in the water barrels. This time around I got a bit too much in and using the water to bathe with is like bathing in an over chlorinated pool. I'm going to use the test kit from the pool to measure the chlorine content when I fill the barrels. We've got plenty of drinking water.
#6 - One way or the other I've got a half a dozen trees too near my power lines that are going to get taken down. Since my power lines are snapped at the moment I'm tempted to simply drop the things now and cut them up later after we see what Ivan is or isn't going to do.
#7 - I'm going to increase my fuel storage. I won't have used half of my fuel storage from Frances/Charley, but I could have used a lot more of it if we'd taken a more severe hit. For a couple of days gas was hard to come by here because either the stations had no power or they'd sold out.
All-in-all we've weathered this storm better than we've ever weathered one before but I think I can do better still. If I could just come up with some way to afford to buy one I've already sold my wife on the idea of getting a bigger, more durable generator that we could run the house a/c on. Wouldn't need to run it 24 hours a day, just maybe three or four hours would make sleeping at nights more tolerable and improve everyone's disposition.
Having another potential hurricane to worry about right on the heels of the one that just blew though complicates matters. The air circulation in the house would be much improved if I took the wood off the windows, but I don't want to do that if Ivan is going to come this way because I'd just have to put it all back up again! Same for clean-up. I could put several days in on cleaning up what was blown down only to have Ivan come and do it all over again so I'm just going to leave the stuff laying until he makes up his mind where he's going to go. I'm of the mind that he's going to go to Louisiana, but only God knows for sure where a hurricane is going to go so we're trying to cover all bets here.
You all who have been impacted by the storms what have y'all learned?
.....Alan.