Our First Hurricane Season in TX - tips?

[DotLib]

People were waiting in line to get some of those MREs!! I just wanted some light at night and air conditioning. I had to stand in line to get into the CVS store because I had all kinds of batteries, but NOT the kind I needed for my little portable radio. We couldnt talk on our cell phone, but could do text messages. Thats when I became a pro at texting!! I text my friend in California and she told me what was going on in Texas!

The second day all of our neighbors got together and cooked all of our meat and had some really good eating for a day or two!

My brother who lives in Athens Texas, owns an icehouse, and he brought me and all of my neighbors ice. He also had to bring us containers to keep the ice in because we sure didnt have enough.

Neighbors here shared generators and gasoline. We were very fortunate because we had water. I cant imagine (and sure dont want to ever find out) being without water and power. That was the longest 2 1/2 weeks of my life!!

And, all of that said..I havent really given Hurricane season any thought ...not until I saw this thread ! Guess I might have to stock up on a few things. Dot

[Poltracker]

Originally Posted by Sampaguita

DH thinks we should buy some MRE's and get a propane burner + propane & stainless steel pot (like the kind you'd use at a crawfish boil) to heat up the MRE's, boil water, etc...

Thoughts? I think it's a bit overkill but DH is saying that it's full meals whereas I'd have to put together "full" meals from canned goods.

You do not need anything to heat MREs. They come with a little bag w/ a heater in each one for the main course and side dish. Having the pots and pans and a burner is a good idea though (especially if you drink coffee or tea). Like the above poster, we (including neighbors) cooked all the food in the freezers before it could spoil and everyone on the street ate quite well for a few days. The problem is having enough food to get you through until the stores can reopen and restock. When the stores were able to reopen, non-pershables were available in plenty but things like meat, eggs, bread, and milk were tough to get for a while. Not going to mention ice.

[texas7]

If you buy a generator - remember to keep it far enough away from your home that it doesn't get the fumes in your house -- AND, keep it out in the open and NOT near a neighbors home - who may not have a generator - yet can't open their windows because you've put your generator too close. That happened a lot during Ike. When you go to the grocery store - you don't need 30 gallons of milk and every loaf of bread on the shelf - just enough for your family for a week or so - the shelves will be restocked. Of course - when everyone else is caught up in the hoarding frenzy - it makes everyone else feel that they need to as well. I hate that stuff. I just buy enough for the family, not the entire block.

My neighbor puts together a hurricane kit every spring of dry foods to eat that need no refrigeration. He keeps them in a box in his panty and then in the fall - either eats them or donates them. He creates a fresh box every spring. Not a huge box - just reasonable for his family. We don't have a generator but we also don't have plans to buy one either. Just takes up space when not in use and I don't need it often enough to justify the purchase. Yes, it was hot and the peanut butter & jelly sandwiches did get a bit boring but it was tolerable for a week.

[Sampaguita]

Just thought I'd bump this up as I was searching for generator info (DH wants to buy one this month) and found this old thread of mine from when we first moved to the Houston area. I was kind of laughing at some of my questions.

At any rate, there are some great tips on this thread - especially for newcomers to Houston who are thinking about their first hurricane season.

[HoustonRonnie]

Buy a motorcycle, some beef jerky and bottled water. Load all in saddlebags, grab spouse and dog and be in Dallas in 4 hours. Pay no heed to the jerks flipping you off and yelling at you as you pass them by sitting still in their cars.

Just sayin'...

Ronnie