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More than fifty hurricanes have passed through my great state in my lifetime and I don’t recall leaving Florida for any of them. In 2004 we felt the impact of four major storms and never lost power. Years before we weren’t as lucky and managed to endure two weeks without electricity. Two weeks without electricity will teach you a LOT about being better prepared. Here are a few tips beyond the normal survival list to help you prepare better too:
Think of Everything, Need Nothing:
With the season beginning soon, you need to begin preparing your home and purchasing your supplies now. Avoid waiting until the last minute to purchase anything your family will need for a hurricane. This includes your wood and screws to cover your windows. The cost to board a home with plywood can be between $250 – $700 depending on the amount and size of windows that need to be protected. A struggling family may not have the means to pay for this protection on a whim. Purchasing, cutting, and setting aside these materials until they are ready to be used is the best way to begin protecting your home in advance of the season’s start.
Never leave your home, or family, unprotected because you don’t have the necessary funds set aside. Just as the above paragraph mentions, not all families have hundreds of dollars set aside for an emergency when they should. Begin saving cash each month and placing it with your preparedness supplies. At the very least, have enough set aside for a full tank of gas in your vehicle(s) and a hotel stay for three nights. This will allow your family to have the means to evacuate in the event of a direct impact from a major storm.
Feed Me, Feed You, Feed Them:
While you are preparing your family’s food needs, don’t forget to purchase a necessary supply of food for your pets. They too will need food and water. Please take them into consideration when you are gathering your survival/preparedness supplies.
Baby, Baby, Baby:
Do you have a baby? If so, how do you plan on diapering your child during the storm and the aftermath? You should have enough diapering supplies for two weeks for each child in diapers. This is roughly two hundred diapers per child depending on the age.
Although you may have enough disposable diapers stashed away, you should also know how to diaper your baby in an emergency when you are not prepared with an adequate supply of diapers. View and learn from the video below how to fold t-shirts to use as diapers with no cutting or sewing:
Did you just have an ‘ah-ha” moment watching that video? Now you know to forget tossing those old t-shirts and save them with a snappi for your emergency diaper stash instead!
Before the Storm:
Once a storm has been confirmed to be heading your way you can begin protecting your home with the supplies you previously purchased. Boarding your home should be a breeze with your pre-cut plywood and will allow you to quickly move on to other preparedness projects.
Even if you don’t live near hi-surge areas, you should sandbag the base of your exterior doorways and garage door before moving on towards indoor preparation projects. Ditches and swells can fill up fast and water may accumulate on your property faster than your ground can absorb.
In the twenty-four hours before you begin to feel the storm’s effects, fill your bathtub(s) with water. This water can be used for drinking, flushing toilets, cooking, whatever your need. You can also make this method safer by purchasing a AquaPodKit. The water saved using one AquaPodKit is enough for a family of four for fourteen days!