[RedneckRebel]

Originally Posted by LKJ1988

I never do anything. Lived here 53 years next week and never seen a storm yet.

What part of the state you in?

[Sunbiz1]

Originally Posted by North_Pinellas_Guy

I wonder why they do not just bury them all, just like in the individual neighborhoods.

For the same reason there are no basements, ground water level is too high in the peninsula.

I asked an FPL worker the same question after Wilma.

[blueherons]

I haven't read through the replies but I've been through a ton living on the coast of South Carolina including Hurricane Hugo which was a cat 4 or 5.

Have a pool? Dump all of your outside patio furniture in the pool. Bring plants and trash cans inside. Anything that can fly can kill someone.

Turn your AC down pretty cold in case you lose power.

If you have a deep freezer, fill it up with blankets or volume stuff to fill it (it works the most efficient full) and duct tape it shut in case we lose power.

Make sure your cell phone and laptop/tablet has a full charge (we like to watch movies on the laptop if we lose power).

Get a rotary phone. If we lose power your land line will not work with a cordless.

Fill your tubs up with water. If we lose power your toliet pump will not work and you can still flush your toliet by manually filling up the tank.

If you have pets, make sure you have crates, cages, food, water, and litter for all and have it boxed up in case you need to evacuate on the fly.

Cash is king. ATMs will not work if power is down.

Fill up all cars with gas.

Flashlights
Batteries
Battery operated radio

We get food we like and hope for the best but always have a lot of canned stuff and peanut butter on hand.

I also have tons of candles.

Games.

Have enough food, water, and entertainment to go at least 48 hours if not 36.

We were without power after Hugo for almost two weeks and were under a 6PM curfew for one week.

It can happen.

[blueherons]

Originally Posted by LKJ1988

I never do anything. Lived here 53 years next week and never seen a storm yet.

Originally Posted by LKJ1988

The news chans and Home depot are in it together to make money. They always blow it up and nothing ever happens.

You know all those people that died after Katrina?

Yeah, they said the same thing.

[LKJ1988]

Originally Posted by RedneckRebel

What part of the state you in?

Tampa area on the gulf.

[LKJ1988]

Originally Posted by blueherons

You know all those people that died after Katrina?

Yeah, they said the same thing.

I keep waiting. One day a Cat 5 will come up the pipe. Could be this year or another 50.

[Sweetbottoms]

Originally Posted by blueherons

You know all those people that died after Katrina?

Yeah, they said the same thing.

Their structures are not made to the same code as many of ours are (at least not then I don't know about now) . Many/most of their homes were wood frames. They're also in a fishbowl. My husbands EOC bulding is Cat 5 code. I do not believe they had any in LA.

[LKJ1988]

Originally Posted by Sweetbottoms

Their structures are not made to the same code as many of ours are (at least not then I don't know about now) . Many/most of their homes were wood frames. They're also in a fishbowl. My husbands EOC bulding is Cat 5 code. I do not believe they had any in LA.

None of the homes in my area could take wind gust over 200mph. Everything would be long gone. 120mph and up and all the roofs would be gone.

[FLHfan]

Just finished running the generator and changed the oil. I wanted to make sure it would start right up when I need it. Went to Home Depot this morning to get a transfer switch so we can run the fridge, ceiling fans and entertainment. I'm thinking about building a little shelter to protect it so I can leave it out in the rain. If I can keep the cars and gas cans full we will be able to run the gen for 16 days @ 8hrs a day.

We have a camp stove, grill and plenty of propane and charcoal. Stocked up on food, water and batteries already. Bring it on.

[StarfishKey]

Originally Posted by Rabflmom

We found out the hard way-----don't store bags of ice in your freezer or refrigerator thinking it will help. It melts and water leaks out, without the evaporation fans working it fills the pan under the refrigerator/freezer, overflows, and ours ran down the wall into the condo below ours. They were not happy. Use coolers-most stores had a limit to 2 before the storm.

Don't buy bags of ice, or bottled water, before a storm. It's a waste of money. Filter your own water into clean containers, and have some Chlorine Dioxide tabs just in case. I also keep a LifeStraw on hand, which is also great if you have to evacuate but get stuck in bad conditions before reaching your destination (a real possibility given the few roads heading North in the long and populous state of Florida, unfortunately).

Instead of buying, fill up good quality ziploc bags with your home-filtered water. Put them in your freezer a few days ahead of time. They conform to the shape of whatever space is in the freezer, so take up little room, and stay closed without leaking when they melt. They also melt a lot more slowly than ice cubes because they are solid blocks of ice. You can easily chip some off to cool individual drinks down, or use the whole bags to keep the fridge and freezer cold, as well as to keep coolers cold, in the meantime. Plus, as they melt, because they were already filtered they are great clean drinking water, extending your water supply. This worked great for me in Hurricane Sandy - my neighborhood was hit very hard.


Have a crank radio, ideally with an alarm, emergency light, flashlight, and phone charger built in. Get a waterproof one if possible, and consider one that can also be charged by solar, although many of these type of solar panels actually fail (so test as soon as you buy). Cranks do not require batteries at all, so you don't have to worry about keeping fresh batteries on hand all the time, or taking them with you if you have to evacuate. It will take many cranks to give you cell minutes, but that might be invaluable in certain situations. In others, the cell towers won't even be up or working, so it won't matter. This is another great thing to bring with you if you have to evacuate.


Make sure to have a fire extinguisher that has the correct pressure, and a first aid kit. Double-check that all of your smoke alarms are working and do not need replacement batteries. This is a good time of year to do this anyway, so that you are on at the very least an annual schedule of maintaining the house to make sure your loved ones are safe. Take this opportunity to double-check that you have multiple emergencies exits working for each room, and that all of your windows are easy to open and get out of. If you have a 2nd floor or live in a stilt, make sure you have a fire ladder for each bedroom. Fires are a very serious hazard in a hurricane, and also of course can happen year-round. Have a plan for any oil/gas/propane cans stored around the property. You don't want to keep them inside the house in case of a fire, but you also don't want them hanging around in the yard in a below-flood location, or right next to the house. Resist the urge to stockpile fuel, as this could be a the source of a tremendous fire if something were to go wrong that could jeopardize both you, and your neighbors. Make sure any fuel that you do have is in a safe container, and is not filled to the top.



As for medications, work with your pharmacy - usually there is a directive that you can get a full month's supply (or at the very least a week) in cases of emergencies, a few days before a storm. You can also say you are going out of the country for two months, and often there is a way to get extra Rxs for such a trip - then you don't go, and you have a full month extra at your disposal. Additionally, you can build up an emergency supply of medications (which you should have anyway even if you never have a hurricane) by skipping doses. This is not great, so be extremely careful if you do this, but for instance I have heart medication that is very critical that I take. The way to get around it is knowing that if I forget a dose here and there, I should be fine (just a little uncomfortable for a few hours). In most cases, a Rx medication will have a halfway decent over the counter supplement equivalent. So what I do is carefully research my medications, buy the best equivalent over the counter (you'd be surprised how many complicated medications actually have herbal supplement counterparts) that has the very best reviews, and then when I intentionally skip a dose every few days or once a week, I replace it with the supplement for that dose if I need anything at all, to make it easier for me to miss a dose. Over the course of a year, I stockpile extra doses of medication that way. Plus, ahead of storm season, I order a bunch of the supplements, in case I run out of the Rxs, so I may feel terrible for a while but at least I won't die. This is terrible medical advice, obviously, but as a patient, it has saved my life a few times. So I think it is a great solution when you can't get the Rxs you need, especially if you are going to be out of town for weeks due to a storm. It's also nice so you never run out of medication at other times of the year, either. Be aware, supplements are just as powerful as Rxs, but are not regulated. Be very careful to research the full range of side effects and drug interactions of any supplement before taking, and buy a brand that many others have reviewed as having top quality.


At the beginning of storm season, trim back all your trees and do all heavy pruning that needs to be done. Remove the yard debris well before there will be difficulty getting anyone to pick it up. Look for any branches or trees that are likely to topple over or rip right out of the ground, hitting a building, or falling in your road preventing emergency workers from crossing. Remove dead trees. Cut down all coconuts, avocados, mangoes, or any other fruit that can become a deadly projectile in a bad storm. Remove all those dead or dying palm fronds, too. Don't wait until a storm is predicted to do all this yard work, because there will not be enough time and the yard debris removal service will be overloaded. If you need permitted work, you also will have no chance of getting it done in time, as they will be in extremely high demand. Have a list handy of all the things in your yard that will need to be picked up and brought in - potted plants, solar path lights, toys, tacky plastic lawn flamingos, ... anything that can be picked up and thrown in a storm.


Make sure to secure your boat/kayak/etc., and raise any vehicles you will leave behind on blocks with a chain to help keep them from floating away and crashing into other houses (or simply getting damaged with the water).