Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire HURRICANE ADVICE

Charge any device that provides light. Laptops, tablets, cameras, video cameras, and old phones. Old cell phones can still be used for dialing 911. Charge external battery back ups (power banks).
Wash all trash cans, big and small, and fill with water for flushing toilets. Line outdoor trash cans with trash bags, fill with water and store in the garage. Water in trash bags should not be used to bathe or drink. Bags contain chemicals to suppress insect and odor. Use for toilet flushing purposes only.
Fill every tub and sink with water. Cover sinks with Saran Wrap to keep it from collecting dust. Fill washing machine and leave lid up to store water.
Fill old empty water bottles and other containers with water and keep near sinks for washing hands.
Fill every Tupperware with water and store in freezer. These will help keep food cold longer and serve as a back up water supply.
Fill drinking cups with water and cover with Saran Wrap. Store as many as possible in fridge. The rest you can store on the counter and use first before any water bottles are opened. Ice is impossible to find after the storm.
Reserve fridge space for storing tap water and keep the sealed water bottles on the counter.
Cook any meats in advance and other perishable foods. You can freeze cooked food. Hard boil eggs for snacks for first day without power.
Be well hydrated before the storm hits and avoid salty foods that make you dehydrated.
Wash all dirty clothes and bed sheets. Anything dirty will smell without the A/C, you may need the items, and with no A/C, you'll be sweating a lot. You're going to want clean sheets.
Toss out any expiring food, clean cat litter boxes, empty all trash cans in the house, including bathrooms. Remove anything that will cause an odor when the A/C is off. If you don't have a trash day pickup before the storm, find a dumpster.
Bring in any yard decor, secure anything that will fly around, secure gates, bring in hoses, potted plants, etc. Bring in patio furniture and grills.
Clean your environment so you have clear, easy escape routes. Even if that means temporarily moving furniture to one area.
Scrub all bathrooms so you are starting with a clean odor free environment. Store water filled trash cans next to each toilet for flushing.
Place everything you own that is important and necessary in a backpack or small file box that is easy to grab. Include your wallet with ID, phone, hand sanitizer, snacks, etc. Get plastic sleeves for important documents.
Make sure you have cash on hand.
Stock up on pet food and fill up bowls of water for pets.
Refill any medications. Most insurance companies allow for 2 emergency refills per year.
Fill your propane tanks. You can heat soup cans, boil water, make coffee, and other stuff besides just grilling meat. Get an extra, if possible.
Drop your A/C in advance and lower temperatures in your fridges.
Gather all candles, flashlights, lighters, matches, batteries, first aid kit and other items and keep them accessible.
Clean all counters in advance. Start with a clean surface. Buy Clorox Wipes for cleaning when there is no power. Mop your floors and vacuum. If power is out for 10 days, you'll have to live in the mess you started with.
Pick your emergency safe place such as a closet under the stairs. Store the items you'll need in that location for the brunt of the storm. Make a hand fan for when the power is out.
Shower just before the storm is scheduled to hit.
Keep baby wipes next to each toilet. Don't flush them. It's not the time to risk clogging your toilet!
Run your dishwasher, don't risk having dirty smelly dishes and you need every container for water! Remember you'll need clean water for brushing your teeth, washing yourself, and cleaning your hands.
Pack a small suitcase and keep it in your car in case you decide to evacuate. Also put at least one jug of water in your car. It will still be there if you don't evacuate. You don't need to store all water in the house. Remember to pack for pets as well.
Check on all family members, set up emergency back up plans, and check on elderly neighbors.
Pets are family too. Take them with you.
Before the storm, unplug all electronics. There will be power surges during and after the storm.
Cover televisions, computer monitors and other electronic devices with trash bags in case windows break and expose the interior of the house to the elements.
Cover windows with plywood from the outside.
Gas up your car and have a spare gas container for your generator or your car when you run out.
Touch base with neighbors prior to the storm to determine if they are ready and capable to weather the storm. Building relationships with neighbors also comes in handy if you need to borrow a chainsaw or need extra hands to clear debris.

Best advice is just leave. Take your important papers and irreplaceable personal items and get out of the way. Everything else is replaceable. I’ve been through a few and I can now pack everything that I want into the truck in an hour or less. Weeks without power in the heat is enough to make me want to leave. I stayed for some light strikes in the past but even those are higher risk than you might suppose. The outer bands still throw a bunch of tornadoes and one of those threw a giant pine on my house. It drove a big limb of the pine through the roof and crushed the table my family was sitting around. Nobody was injured but a foot one way or the other could easily have killed one of us. Lesson learned.

That's a pretty solid list. Contractor bags come in handy for a variety of uses. If you are anywhere near a flood zone, be prepared to evacuate. Evacuate if ordered to do so. Evacuate with things that can't be replaced. Elevate anything you can in your home. Do not drive through flood water.

Floods kill far more people than winds do, and the vast majority of the people that are killed were in an evacuation zone. Others drive through flood waters.

It's probably too late, but take extra gasoline with you in 5 gallon cans. If you have a boat, fill it up and have a siphon tool available.

Whatever happened to hurricane parties on the 3 rd floor of the Holiday Inn?

I know some people here have sizable gun collections, how would you move them? Would you move them? We were evacuated once, which I thought was stupid but once my son left they wouldn't let him back in so my wife and other two boys left and were let in the next day.

During Katrina the govt took care of your guns for you...

Best thing is to grab your important stuff and go. They are unpredictable in their power. I've worked in the Gulf on oil and gas platforms since 82. I have experience with them and have seen what they can do. They can blow your house down the trees and loose objects through the house. The storm surge can flood you the rain can flood you. Small weak ones spawn up tornadoes. One like this can put a shrimp boat on top of your house several miles inland. If you stay too long and change your mind you can't leave. It is selfish to stay and make people risk their lives trying to save you.

This ones quite simple:

CARRY YOUR AZZ!!

This is usually forgotten by even the weather forecasters, but these can cause a lot of damage.

Video everything in your house BEFORE you evacuate. Furniture, guns, tv's electronics. Take the time to get the serial #'s on video, That way the insurance company will have proof of ownership and proof of exactly what was lost. We didn't loose anything for Katrina, but we know a whole lot of people who lost everything. Those that did the video, had much more success when making claims than others. In fairness, many parts of lower Louisiana were wiped out and the insurance companies wrote them a check for the maximum amount the homeowners and flood policies covered. It was impossible for the insurance companies to even get to where the houses used to be. But, the video is sound advice in my opinion.


To all in harm's way,,,,,good luck.


Clyde

It was just annonced that the power could be out for 3 weeks or more.

I'd have a lot more gas than just the tank on the car and 1 can of gas. A person should have no less than 30 gallons waiting in cans.

anyone that waits until now to get hurricane advice probably deserves what they get

There is not one thing about a house that's worth risking your life!