Hurricane season is here, and it isn’t just people with homes perched along the Florida coast who need to be ready. Hurricane preparedness is prudent for anyone located within 100 (or more) miles of the Southeastern US coast. The time to create your hurricane preparedness kit and list is before a storm threatens—those who wait until the Weather Channel warns of imminent danger often discover that local stores have sold out of critical supplies and gas station lines stretch for blocks.
Bottom Line Personal asked natural disaster expert Chris Emrich, PhD, what should be on your hurricane preparedness checklist.
- Water. One gallon per day per person for two weeks for sheltering in place…three gallons per person if evacuating.
- Food. Enough for every person for two weeks. Include high-protein foods—peanut butter, canned beans, energy bars, etc.
- Can opener.
- Flashlights—one per person.
- Batteries and/or a power bank for rechargeable batteries.
- NOAA weather radio.
- First-aid kit—with antiseptic, gauze, bandages and OTC painkillers.
- Prescription medications.
- Medical devices.
- Personal hygiene products.
- Baby supplies and food.
- Pet supplies and food.
- Paperwork. Copies of insurance policies, IDs, medication lists, medical records, pet-vaccination records.
- Cash for at least one tank of gas and one night in a hotel.
- Tools—Swiss Army knife, chainsaw (if possible), car-escape tool.
- Plastic sheeting, duct tape, scissor, work gloves.
- Five-gallon buckets to use for storage.
- Cell phone and charger.
- Contact information for loved ones.
- Towels.
Hurricane Preparedness Kit
The following items can help you survive a hurricane, whether you evacuate or ride out the storm at home…
Water
A few bottles of water aren’t nearly enough. Hurricane flooding can contaminate local water supplies, rendering tap water unsafe to drink for weeks. An appropriate amount of water for sheltering in place is 14 gallons per person—that’s one gallon per day for two weeks. If you must evacuate, pack three gallons per person in your vehicle. Alternative: If you don’t want to fill your home with all that bottled water, purchase a large plastic water storage bag such as WaterBOB ($35) that converts a bathtub into a potable water reservoir. Fill this whenever a hurricane threatens.
Food
Have enough nonperishable, no-cooking-necessary food in your emergency supply to feed everyone in the household for two weeks. If you evacuate, bring a three-day food supply with you. Good options: High-protein foods such as peanut butter, canned beans and certain energy bars. And don’t forget a can opener. Important: Once a year, transfer the food in your emergency supplies to your daily-use kitchen cupboards, and purchase new emergency supplies. That way your emergency food supplies won’t be stale when you need them.
Flashlights
Have at least one flashlight per person. LED flashlights that can be recharged via USB cable are ideal—these even can be recharged using the USB port in a car. Purchase a power bank that can be used to recharge these batteries as well. If your flashlights or other emergency devices use traditional batteries, stockpile a supply of replacement batteries. Note: Candles should only be a last resort as they post additional safety hazards, especially if left unattended
NOAA Weather Radio
One of these is the best way to obtain local weather updates, including evacuation orders. Most can be set to activate when emergency alerts are issued, ensuring that you’ll receive vital updates promptly even if they’re issued late at night. Some can be powered by hand crank if their batteries run down.
First-aid kit
This should include antiseptic, gauze, bandages and over-the-counter painkillers. Cuts and abrasions to feet and legs are the most common injuries during hurricanes. Related: Keep at least a two-week supply of sanitation and personal hygiene products in your home during hurricane season.
Prescription medications
It might not be possible to refill prescriptions immediately following a hurricane. To reduce the odds that you’ll run out of a drug you take regularly, refill your prescriptions as soon as possible during hurricane season…obtain 90-day rather than 30-day supplies, when allowed…ask your doctor to okay an extra refill…and/or take advantage of state rules that allow extra refills during disasters. Example: In Florida, a person is allowed to obtain an extra 30-day supply of chronically used prescription drugs whenever the governor declares a state of emergency that affects their county of residence.
Tools
Store a Swiss Army knife with your emergency supplies. Make sure you have access to a chainsaw (check with friends and neighbors, or purchase one if you can)—you might need this if fallen trees or big branches block your driveway or street. Keep a car escape tool in your vehicle—if your car is caught in flood waters, this could slice through a stuck seatbelt or smash open a window.
Paperwork
Keep copies of insurance policy information, IDs, medication lists, key medical records and pet-vaccination records with your emergency supplies so you don’t forget them if you evacuate (pet-vaccination details are important because emergency shelters might not let your pet in without them). Also take digital photos of these and other vital and hard-to-replace personal documents, such as birth certificates and Social Security cards, and save these photos in your phone and to the cloud.
Cash
Keep enough cash on hand during hurricane season to pay for a tank of gas and one night in a hotel at a minimum—credit card–processing systems sometimes are temporarily disabled during disasters.
Plastic sheeting, duct tape, scissors and work gloves
These often come in handy during extreme weather events such as hurricanes.
Five-gallon buckets with fitted lids
Store your hurricane supplies in these buckets, available at home centers and hardware stores. These buckets are stackable, have easy-to-grab handles and are waterproof with their lids on.
If you evacuate, also pack: Your cell phone and its charger…a printed list of contact info for loved ones—the numbers saved in your phone might not be accessible if your phone is water damaged or its battery runs down…medical devices and supplies needed by family members…a few towels…baby supplies and baby food if there’s a baby in the household…and pet supplies and food if there’s a pet in the household.
Preparing Your House
Home upgrades and strategies that can reduce the odds of hurricane wind damage, according to the University of Central Florida’s HazardAware program…
Install storm shutters and/or impact-resistant windows
If these solutions don’t fit your budget, attach plywood over windows as the hurricane approaches. Purchase this plywood as soon as possible—hardware stores often run out when storms threaten. Pre-drill holes in this plywood, and pre-install anchors to make installation as quick and easy as possible. Label each piece of plywood so it can be quickly paired with the appropriate window. Don’t bother taping windows—this doesn’t provide any benefit, and it leaves behind hard-to-remove tape residue.
Reinforce garage doors
Standard garage doors often get blown in by hurricane winds. Sturdier doors are available, as are affordable kits to reinforce standard garage doors.
Clear the yard
Yard furniture, pool furniture and other items located outside the home should be stowed away so they don’t become projectiles in hurricane winds. Storage sheds should be well-anchored to the ground. Ideally any trees close enough to fall onto the home should be removed.
Roofs
There are roof-construction strategies that greatly reduce the odds that a home’s roof will be ripped off by hurricane winds, as well as ways to better secure existing roofs to the home. Discuss the options with roofing contractors.
To reduce the odds that hurricane-related flooding will cause problems…
Get flood insurance
Standard homeowners’ insurance doesn’t cover flood damage. Your mortgage lender likely requires you to purchase a separate flood policy if your house is in a high-risk flood zone. If your home is not in one of these zones, it still could flood in a hurricane, and this coverage is still worth obtaining.
Move valuables upstairs
When a hurricane is approaching, transfer electronics, important paperwork and any other valuables from the basement and first floor up to the second floor, if the home has one. If a home is at high flood risk, it could even be worth having a contractor relocate HVAC components, electrical components and appliances to the home’s higher levels.
Have a sewer backflow valve put in
This can prevent sewage from backing up into your home in floods.
Evacuation Preparation
The big question is, should you stay…or should you go? Best: Do whatever local emergency management officials advise—use a NOAA weather radio to receive this guidance. Officials typically issue evacuation orders on a zone-by-zone basis, so it’s vital to know your “evacuation zone” and your evacuation route before there’s a hurricane. If you can’t find this information on your town or county’s website, call your town or county offices to ask.
Important: Consider evacuating even if an evacuation order has not yet been issued for your zone if a prolonged power outage would put you at risk—for example, if you depend on an electrically powered medical device.
If your loved ones will be evacuating in different cars along the same evacuation route, choose rally points along this route where you can meet up with them. Don’t assume that you’ll be able to remain in contact via cell phone during an evacuation—cellular networks sometimes fail during disasters. Decide in advance who will transport any loved ones who lack vehicles during evacuations.
Do not let your fuel tank fall below 50% full during hurricane season. The farther you can get from the hurricane zone before you need to fill up, the lower the odds you’ll have to waste time in long gas station lines.
Never drive through flood waters, even if the water appears shallow. As little as six inches of water can float a car.
