May- June starts hurricane season. Having lived through the Rita evacuation and Ike I have a pretty good idea of what I need to do to be prepared for the eventual power outage and other eventualities. I find it better to do this now than wait till the last minute. I plan for at least a week of no power. Lucky that all the power in my neighborhood is underground and comes back on rather quickly.During Ike we only were out for 3 days.
When Rita was threatening Houston with a direct hit as a category 5 storm I was on the south side of town. Normally it would have taken 30 to 45 minutes to get home from where I was but due to the evacuation I could not get anywhere. I wound up zig zagging through town. With my son on the phone who was using a google map and me in my car I managed to get home in 2 hours. All the northern routes where bumper to bumper and not moving. I managed to stop at the store bought the very last insulated cooler and a couple of jugs of water. We gathered the stuff we would need till the next day and bugged out. I did have a friend make hotel reservations for us up in Dallas so we had a place to stay.
That was long and tedious journey. Mom in the back seat complained the entire time we were gone. The dog in a makeshift kennel whined and cried most of the time and would occasionally bark. (made a dog kennel from a covered cat litter pan. The back had a grate for air but the front was open so we cut holes for paint stir sticks to keep him in the thing. It worked) All of the interstates were not moving that day but armed with a key map of Houston, and a larger one for Texas we managed to zig zag out way to Dallas. Of course we all know Rita turned at the last minute and dropped down to a cat 3 but still did billions of dollars worth of damage.
First is to make sure I have some cash stowed away. ATM's are not going to work with the power off. The amount of cash is up to you. Place all you cash, birth certificates, passports copies of your ID's, homeowners insurance and anything else legal in a plastic bag or water tight bag. Put that bag someplace accessible to you but not available to someone who should not have it.
Gas. You will need this for your car or the generator. I have 2, 5 gallon plastic cans for this. The plan is fill them up before I need them. Now gasoline doesn't keep so I will have to get something called "stabil" to put in the the containers. I will keep my gas full in the car not letting it get below 1/2 tank. I need to find an affordable hand crank or pump to move the gas from the car to the cans if possible. I saw a large 15 gallon gas tank on wheels that would be nice to have.
The generator is in storage. I keep it with all of the instructions and the oil in a safe place. Have to wait for the storm to pass before it can be used. I can see myself in some comedy routine trying to start this thing in 70 mile and hour wind. Along with the generator you need extension cords, and all important a carbon monoxide detector. So many useless deaths from carbon monoxide that generators emit. Of course in most instances the generator was in the garage or too close to the house.
Batteries. You will need these for the radio, camping lamps, flash lights etc. Rechargeable are nice to have. A solar battery recharger would be nice to have especially if you do not have a generator.
Food. Think protein. Canned meats should be a priority. Spam can be eaten straight from the can, cooked in casseroles, sandwiches, and just a multitude of ways. Canned tuna and salmon are also good sources of protein. Then there are jerky's that you can eat the way they are or rehydrate and make into other dishes. Stew like soups are also good for this. Do not buy frozen foods. Unless have a generator you can hook your refrigerator up to you can plan on eating and cooking all that frozen food in the first 24 hours. Food items should be chosen based on shelf life. Dried, canned, powdered works best. Make sure you include a powdered drink mix like tang or lemonade, as well as instant coffee, tea, and powdered milk. You can use powdered milk for cooking or cereal. Powdered eggs are also an option. I would not spend my money on MRE's or these commercially prepared food kits. They might not be well received and are more expensive than collecting your own. If you go to the grocery once a week and add extra to you list you should be well stocked by the time hurricane season rolls around.
Cooking. I have a gas stove. It worked even when the power was out. I have lighter that has a long snout on it for starting charcoal and it came in handy for lighting the stove. So I could still cook in the house using my regular cookware. A propane grill, camp stove and various fuels are out there for use. You might need to modify your cookware for use over an open flame. If worse come to worse I do have a gas fireplace that burns wood but do not attempt to cook using manufactured firplace logs. Those have a lot of chemicals and additives in them and are not a healthy option. After Ike it was common place to see folks out on the driveway with their grills going. Great way to meet your neighbors and be social.
When Ike visited us it was a cat 3 hurricane and did not cause that much damage to the interior reaches of the city and areas North and West. It was the coast that was hardest hit with many homes destroyed and several lives lost. If a cat 5 is bearing down on us I am out of here. My house will not survive winds that strong.
There are other issues and adventures related to Rita and Ike I will share at another time.
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