Hurricane preparedness for later this week

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Mr Nice

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Folks in the Carolinas, hopefully you have most of your necessities for the hurricane later this week.

Dry ice, water, canned food, propane / cooking items, flashlights, batteries, prescription meds, baby food / items, mosquito spray, gasoline, generator, ammo and gun (no joke)..., etc....

I was in south Florida for hurricane Andrew in 1992 and didn't have electricity for 4 weeks. Where I was, Andrew winds were at Cat 3 with very little rain. It was not fun for being inside during the hurricane and thinking roof was about the be torn off. Homestead and Florida City looked very bad and had lots of looting and scam roofers taking cash deposits to repair roofs or installing temporary plastic tarps. These types of events unfortunately have lots of bad people taking advantage of desperate folks.

I noticed 2 days before Andrew hit, lots of people did not prepare for having no electricity for weeks and supermarkets completely out of necessities.

Today disaster preparedness is much better from the state and local agencies, but ultimately don't expect help.
 
Mom and stepdad in Charlotte area aren't worried as high 90's there and no rain. Few years ago around thanksgiving they got some rain and that's all. It's rained all weekend here in southwest PA though
frown.gif
 
Just saw the track forecast, showing it heading straight up here (after Gordon's dump this weekend), anybody near the Ohio River is going to need a boat after Florence passes. Hope you guys in the Carolinas are OK, track is very reminiscent of Hugo back in '89.
 
- Make sure gas cans and car gas tanks are full - can siphon car if need be for more fuel for generator
- Non-perishable foods. Canned soups are great.
- Candles/batteries/flashlights - LED lanterns are safer
- Plenty of on-hand cash (assume no ATM for week+)
- Ammo for pistols and shotguns with extra to spare for your friendly neighbors - especially for those of us who live close to some rough neighborhoods. The dredges of society never miss a good opportunity to loot and steal.

Let's all hope the storm swerves out to sea. Until then prepare!
 
Being prepared goes without saying where I am. It's a yearly ritual.
 
A transformer in my neighborhood blew last week and our city electrical crews had the power back on in 45 minutes. It was a wake up call, so I gassed up and exercised the generator this past week. I'll clean the gutters tomorrow, fill the gas cans and hope and pray for the best.
 
Before you rely on the gas in your car or truck for your generator, make sure you can siphon from it. Most newer vehicles have a baffle in the filler neck that won't allow you to siphon from the tank.

Dave
 
And after the hurricane, most gas stations do NOT have generators to run the pumps even if they could get a gas or diesel delivery.

Lots of people who don't immediately run to the store to shop will be regretting it.

After Andrew, all of south Florida had no traffic lights, and power companies only focused on restoring electricity for law enforcement, jails, hospitals and the bigger nursing homes / hurricane shelters with lots of families.

Until till you got power.... you were on your own.
 
I live in South Florida and prep for hurricanes. Have multiple generators, fuel, some food. We've had our share of direct hits. Thank goodness they were not "Andrew" in strength. Even so, power was out for months after Jeanne.
 
Originally Posted by bullwinkle
Hope you guys in the Carolinas are OK, track is very reminiscent of Hugo back in '89.


I remember Hugo all too well. I am 250 miles inland from Charleston, SC where Hugo made landfall. Hugo was moving around 50 mph, and the eye came right through my home town the next morning at 100+ mph sustained wind speeds. Never seen so many trees come down ever. Hospitals were loaded with people because of bee stings. My wife got bee stung, but she was OK.
 
#2 HDPE windshield washer bottles are made from the same plastic as gas cans, and are vapor-proof. Know an old hermit who misuses them. Just sayin'.

My 196cc "chonda" generator has a propane capable carb like this one ($36 at amazon). If they're out of gasoline, you might still be able to find "blue rhino" tanks.

I've removed fuel from my cars by detatching a female nylon quick-connect from the steel line. The 3/8" nipple remaining easily lets me slip some rubber hose on. Then I find the relay and jumper it. You may find yourself in a rationing situation where they allow cars but not gas cans. Good to do a dry run ahead of time.
 
Our house is ready for most anything. Out west we don't have storms with names, but rather they are called ,,,,,,,,storms.

As long as we have water on hand, a small butane camp stove and a case of Top Ramen we can hold out just fine.

We made it through the Inagural Day Storm of 93. No power for nine days and rest of the utilities took almost six weeks.
 
Originally Posted by PimTac
Our house is ready for most anything. Out west we don't have storms with names, but rather they are called ,,,,,,,,storms.

As long as we have water on hand, a small butane camp stove and a case of Top Ramen we can hold out just fine.

We made it through the Inagural Day Storm of 93. No power for nine days and rest of the utilities took almost six weeks.


You don't have storms with names because you don't have hurricanes.

I doubt you would be so smug if the winds hit 150 MPH and 10 feet of water came down the street in your un-named storms.
 
Originally Posted by Astro14
Originally Posted by PimTac
Our house is ready for most anything. Out west we don't have storms with names, but rather they are called ,,,,,,,,storms.

As long as we have water on hand, a small butane camp stove and a case of Top Ramen we can hold out just fine.

We made it through the Inagural Day Storm of 93. No power for nine days and rest of the utilities took almost six weeks.


You don't have storms with names because you don't have hurricanes.

I doubt you would be so smug if the winds hit 150 MPH and 10 feet of water came down the street in your un-named storms.



Nope, not that bad. 100 knots plus winds and 30-35 foot surf but that doesn't count.

Hope you fair well.
 
Originally Posted by Cujet
I live in South Florida and prep for hurricanes. Have multiple generators, fuel, some food. We've had our share of direct hits. Thank goodness they were not "Andrew" in strength. Even so, power was out for months after Jeanne.


Unfortunately the winds hitting the East coast this week will be Andrew strength.

Hopefully people are hunkering down with supplies for a month.... or getting the heck out of Dodge.

People that never experienced a bad hurricane don't take them seriously.
 
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