7 Hurricane Tips

Yesterday was Hurricane Irene, one of many I’ve lived through.

After talking with a friend up here in Boston, it occurred to me that not everyone is born with the Hurricane Instinct that those of us from the Gulf Coast are born with (along with the gene that makes us hoard newspaper for crawfish boils). So here are my 6 best tips for hurricane preparedness, from my experience. I’m not an expert, but I have lived on the Gulf Coast for 23 years and survived an alphabet soup of hurricanes. I lived an hour away from New Orleans when Hurricane Katrina hit and didn’t evacuate, so I’m hardcore (stupidly hardcore?).

6 Things to do if a Hurricane is Coming and You Aren’t Planning to Evacuate

1) Have a full tank in your car, and get it early. Gas prices go up and long lines form. You never know when you’ll need to evacuate or you’ll have to fuel a generator if your power goes out. If these things happen (hopefully not) you don’t want to be 20th in line for the pump with a Category 5 barreling down on you. Fill up your tank early and if you have extra gas containers, now would be a good time to fill them up, too.

2) Fill up the bathtub and any empty containers you have with water. If you lose power and can’t flush the toilets, you’ll need water to manually do it. (to do that: just pour water quickly into the bowl. Whatever science/voodoo/balance system that makes toilets work will cause the toilet to flush itself if you have a normal toilet).

3) Keep all cars away from trees in case branches fall. Put them in the middle of the yard if you have to.

4) Make sure you have flashlights, batteries, candles, and extra ice. The extra ice is for in case you lose power and your refrigerated/frozen food starts thawing.

5) Tie down any outdoor swings, gutters, yard decorations, and potted plants. Or bring them inside.This one’s pretty much a no-brainer, but I figured I’d include it anyway.

6) Think twice about opening windows to cool off. I learned this one during Hurricane Gustav, when I evacuated to a friend’s house, and it’s best used if you think you’ll be without power for awile. If you throw open all the windows in your house to catch a cooling hurricane breeze, consider leaving one room sealed shut. Why? Because of humidity. The breeze may feel nice now, but when that high-humidity post-hurricane day comes, your house will be humid and uncomfortable. When that happens, the room you sealed off will still have old low-humidity formerly air-conditioned air in it, and it will feel better.

7) Bag It. If you have anything not in a container in your fridge or freezer, put it in a plastic bag and seal it. That way, if it melts, it will make clean-up easier. (Thanks to my friend Jamie for this tip!)

Good luck!

SV