Nobody wants to have to prepare for a hurricane, but if you choose to live in an area where they are common, then it is probably something that you will have to deal with at least once every year or two. The preparation is not too difficult, but depending on the category of the storm, you may be stuck in your home longer than you want to be if you chose to stay in it instead of evacuate along with everyone else.
You should start with making sure that you have an ample water supply and build it according to how many people will be staying with you at the time of the storm. Each person should have one gallon of water for them to use for at least a week or longer, depending on how long you expect the storm to last. Saving water is pretty easy, since you can rinse out milk jugs and use them. If you do not have any milk jugs saved for this event, then purchasing bottled water at the grocery store is probably going to be your only option, but they may not have enough to meet your current needs. After the storm starts and you are confined to your home, however, you should never trust the water that comes out of your faucet, since it could be contaminated with sea water, bacteria, debris from the storm, or sewage.
You can purify your water out of the tap by boiling it if you need to, but try to avoid this unless you just run completely out of water from your supply. You can also purchase water purification tablets from outdoor supply stores or any other store that sells hiking or camping supplies. Campers and hikers take these with them when they are going to an area where their water supply is not guaranteed to last them their whole trip.
You should also have a good supply of food that does not require refrigeration, since the power could go out at any given time. Even though water is most important here, you do not want to run out of food, either.
Boarding up your windows and doors is also standard procedure for hurricane preparation. Try to keep as much water as possible from getting inside the house to reduce the amount of water damage done to the property.
Keep a hand crank radio. As long as you can crank the handle, it will create its own electricity so you can listen to the local radio stations to keep track of how far the storm has progressed.
Getting Ready For Hurricane Season
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of
Texas Water Damage Restoration and
Houston Water Damage Restoration Which are Certified IICRC Water damage and mold remediation contractors.
