Hurricane Earl

[ranchhand]

Kind of a weird twist, but I've been doing this prep stuff for a long time.

Don't forget to stock up on toilet paper and cheap clay cat litter!

If the water goes, have a backup bathroom. Take a 5 gallon bucket, line it with a plastic bag and put some cat litter in the bottom of the bag. Put a toilet seat on top and voila, instant toilet. Dispose of the bags as needed and/or add more litter as needed.

 

[Miltonchix]

After living thru a couple major storms DW and I have learned a few things.
First DON'T stock you freezers. When the power goes out, if you don't have a generator, everything starts thawing. We tried giving food away, not just hamburger, but steaks etc, no one wanted it, they all had freezers thawing too. Have plenty of canned goods and bottled water. at least a 3 days supply.
Prepare to be without power for up to a month, depending on how remote you are. We're not that remote, but were still without power for nearly 3 weeks.
Fill everything that will hold it, safely, with gas. The first thing that goes is gasoline. Waiting in lines for hours for a couple gallons is NO fun. If you do have a generator, they ain't worth squat without fuel. If it turns out you don't need the gas you can always dump it in the car later.
Handcrank radios are lifesavers! Batteries may become impossible to get, so stock up. Nothing worse than sitting in a pitch dark house during/after a storm completely cut off from the world. Some sort of radio/TV helps. Lots of good information will be coming out during and after the storm.
Cell phones are useless with dead batteries. Get a car charger or some other means of charging it. Our home phone was out for 2 weeks longer than the power.

If you are advised to evacuate your home, DO IT! That means planning ahead too. You'll need CASH money, not a debit card. Credit/debit card machines, ATM's, and the like don't work without power too. Most businesses (except in Florida now) don't have backup generators and may not be able to even open, if they have something to sell.

 

[1_FnkyFrm]

Quote:
You can use Hot Hands (hand warmers) to keep them warm.....

 

[StupidBird]

great advice everyone!

Today to do:
clean, iron, scrub, put away everything. It's rather difficult to do laundry without power.

Shop:
4 g water, catfood, chicken feed & shavings (double the usual pick up), fill the gas cans, a bit extra on canned food, another round of batteries and candles. A couple of tarps - where do these things disappear to anyway? I used to have them.. A backup case of beer and a bottle of something stronger. The first aid kit, the camping gear, are already up to date.
Check out the generator at the store, although I'm sure its no longer on sale.
Mail the month end bills. Get the guys to move the chicken tractor.

I have a couple tentative evac routes, depends on which direction is predicted. Relatives A or B?

 

[chicmom]

I hope you folks on the coast will be OK. I'm in Ohio, and I'm looking forward to the cooler weather that Earl is supposed to bring in, starting on Friday, but I surely don't wish any harm to come to all you coasties!

Even here in OH, we've had some extreme weather...ice storms, wind.....we bought a generator last year because we live in a rather remote area, and we've lost power for up to a WEEK at a time, which is terrible since we're all electric, and we have a well. So no power, no water.....

Crossing my fingers for everyone over there.......

Hope Earl isn't too fierce!

 

[ranchhand]

Quote:
All VERY good advice. This time of year I cook pretty much everything that's frozen, to empty the freezers out. Cash is essential, especially in small bills.

Prepare for a month long camping trip, off the grid. Much as I despise WalMart, they do have a lot of good stuff in the camping section. One of the silliest, yet best, things I got there was a battery operated 10" box fan! We lose power on a regular basis here and that little fan is wonderful!

Another thing about stocking food? Don't get something you wouldn't ordinarily eat. Don't get anything that requires a long time to cook. DO have a manual can opener!

Water- fill every container you possibly can. For washing water I use plastic trash cans lined with a bag. I put them in the sunny areas, so we have warm water for washing ourselves. If you have ducks, multiply the water amount by 100.

For drinking/cooking, I fill a zillion gallon jugs. Easy to handle in the kitchen.

 

[matthewschickens]

I just prayed for y'all. I hope it all works out okay! Keep us updated

 

[call ducks]

we are sapposed to get a hurracanie in NS,NB,PE, to i think it is Earl

 

[herefordlovinglady]

I will be praying for all you folks in Earl's way --

Dar, you are so right Earl's Gotta Die -- Perfect song for this week.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Prepare to evacuate, just in case. If there is an evacuation, the gas stations and stores will run out of gas, food, water, and ice really quick. You may be stuck in traffic jams for hours. Odds are you will be gone two days or so then will be able to return. Even with a reasonable hit, the worst that will probably happen is that you will return to a house with no electricity for a few days. Most hurricanes are not a Katrina, Betsy, Camille, or Rita but the potential is there. They can change course and do the unexpected at the last moment. Be prepared for anything.

Gas up the car(s), fill up any extra gas cans. Do this early. Whether you evacuate or not, consider this a top priority.

Gather all your important papers and have them where you can just grab them. Insurance, passports, drivers licenses, credit cards, prescriptions (medicine and glasses), such as that.

Pack up your medications.

Prepare an overnight bag, maybe two changes of clothing.

Get some extra cash. Evacuation is expensive.

Prepare some water to take with you.

Park any cars left behind on a high spot in case of flooding.

Think real hard if you have people with medical conditions. Being stuck in traffic for many hours (18 hours form Houston to Dallas during Rita, for example) with a weak, elderly person can be fatal for them. I know. If you have someone like that, either really prepare to hunker down or leave way early before traffic builds up. And realize that with a serious hit, you may be without water, power, and medical services for days. I went through Katrina and I remember the really stupid things many people said about why didn't they evacuate. I'm trying real hard to be nice here.

If you still have time, fill your freezer with as much water that can freeze as you can. Empty milk jugs work great. If the freezer has a lot of ice in it, the food in it will last a lot longer than if it is half empty.

Decide what you are going to do with your animals.

Pick up anything that may become a missile and safely store it away. Sinking lawn furniture in a swimming pool is a good idea if you have one.

If you decide to stay, prepare to evacuate anyway. You may have to.

Get extra batteries and make sure you have a battery powered radio. Being able to get information is critical.

Stock up on foods that don’t need to be refrigerated. Don’t forget a hand-powered can opener. Plan for no electricity for days.

Have a way to cook food and boil water without electricity. Remember, you’ll need to wash dishes and may need to sterilize water.

After Katrina, the most important commodity was ice. Imagine the Gulf Coast in August/September with no air conditioning. Stock up on as much as you can.

Stock up on water. Your bath tub will hold a whole lot of water. Think of other big containers you have that an be used.

Have an ax or power saw ready to clean up tree limbs.

If you stay and there is even the most remote possibility of flooding, keep an ax in your attic. You may need to get out through your roof.

That’s about all I can think of on the spur of the moment. Hopefully this one and the others later this year stay out in the Atlantic and don’t do any serious damage.