Hurricane Preparedness Tips

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Over the last week we’ve seen the devastation caused by Hurricane Harvey in Houston, Texas and surrounding areas. As of the publication of this article, Hurricane Irma is a Category 5 storm and barreling towards Florida.

If you’re in the path of a hurricane, what should you do to prepare?

How to Prepare for a Hurricane

First, you’ll want to take a current inventory of all of your disaster supplies to make sure that you have an accurate account of everything you’ll need.

Here is a brief list of supplies that you should have on hand:

Food and Water

• One gallon of water per person per day for drinking and personal care (washing/toilet use), ideally for 14 days, but at least 7 days. If you have pets, be sure to get enough water for them, as well.
• Bags of ice to put into your freezer that can be transported into a cooler in case your electricity goes out. This is helpful to keep perishable food safe from spoiling.
• Non-perishable food, such as canned foods, MREs, or survival food for 3 meals each day per person. We highly recommend Food4Patriots survival food, because they have a 25-year shelf-life, are easy to prepare, and come in the perfect size. Additionally, they don’t taste like cardboard like most other survival foods.
• Boxed or canned juices, dry milk, cereals, soups, raw vegetables, fruits, and powdered coffee and teas
• Special foods needed to help elderly family members or babies

Home Supplies

• Flashlights with extra batteries
• A portable power generator
• Battery-powered NOAA weather radio that also receives AM signals to keep up-to-date with the latest news.
• Car charger for your mobile devices (cell phones, tablets, laptops)
• Propane grill with extra propane tanks
• Waterproof matches
• Paper plates, cups, and utensils
• Manual can opener
• Bleach and water purification tablets
• Cleaning supplies
• Work gloves
• Latex gloves
• Duct tape
• Extension cords
• Waterproof tarps
• Plastic sheeting
• Rope
• Basic tool kit – hammer, screwdriver, blades, hand saw
• Fire extinguisher
• Waterproof container with all important legal documents – social security cards, birth certificates, passports, ID cards, driver licenses, etc.

Health Supplies

• Prescription medications and vitamins/supplements
• Over the counter pain relief medications
• First aid kit
• Antibacterial hand soap
• Toilet paper
• Mosquito repellant
• Toiletries
• Female hygiene products

Personal Protection

• Handgun (for concealable purposes when going into the public)
• Shotgun (for home defense)
• Pepper spray if you have not received firearms training
• Extra ammunition
• Gun cleaning kit
• Extra parts for handguns, rifles and shotguns

This list is meant as a starting point for you. We recommend that you take a look at this list so that you can see where you are with regard to your preparedness and can see how to prepare for a hurricane adequately.

If you have questions about a specific product, or things that you’re considering a purchase on, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us using the comments below.

Please listen to authorities. If they ask you to evacuate, please do so. Don’t be stubborn and avoid taking help when you could be putting your life at risk.

The best time to learn how to prepare for a hurricane is before one is barreling towards you, so even if you think you’re not in the path of an inbound storm, please take heed of this article and begin your preparation immediately.

Homes can be rebuilt, but your life can’t be replaced. Be smart, be vigilant, and most of all be safe.