for my followers in the carolinas/virginia area that don’t have any experience with hurricanes, i’m making this post with some tips that my family/friends and i have used for hurricanes in the past. it looks like y’all are gonna get hit pretty hard with florence, so i hope this helps you guys out if you’re trying to figure out exactly what you need to do. this is gonna get lengthy so i apologize in advance. if you have tips as well, feel free to add them:
if you live along the shore or in a mobile home, LEAVE IF YOU CAN. if you have family/friends farther into the state or lives in a home, ask if you can stay with them! the shore is most likely going to get the worst of it all, and mobile homes are not suitable for hurricanes (note: this is not to say that only the shore will get hit hard, because storms don’t always die down when they get to land, but the shore will most likely get the very very worst of it) i don’t have experience myself in a mobile home situation for hurricanes, but i do know that in florida, basically every county told people living in them to evacuate to a hurricane shelter
with the last point, find a hurricane shelter! ask around on facebook, check your county’s site, etc. last year with irma, several high schools were getting designated as shelters, so if you’re close to a school, see if they have any information on shelters for the hurricane. if you have no one to go to, a shelter is your next best option for getting the heck out of dodge
regardless of if you’re staying in your home or not, charge your phones and keep them charged, charge any external chargers/battery packs you have, and gas up your car. you may lose electricity. it doesn’t always happen, but it can. again, with irma last year, my neighborhood lost power. i ended up staying with my parents for a week until we got our power back. if you do lose power, even if it’s just for a little bit, you will be thankful that you have at least a method to charge your phone so you can remain in contact with anyone so they know you’re safe. gassing up the cars also helps with this should your battery packs die so you can charge them/your phone back up, but try to reserve the gas for if you need to evacuate after the storm
freeze a cup/tupperware bowl of water and put a coin at the top. if you lose power, it will help you determine if anything in your freezer has gone bad. coin still at or near the top? everything is okay and your power kicked back on quickly. coin in the middle? err on the side of caution. if you think something has gone bad, don’t use it, but most everything should still be fine. coin at the bottom? everything is garbage, do not use.
WATER. water is your friend. freeze as much drinking water as you can, have some in the fridge, have additional water bottles just in case. water in the freezer will help keep freezer cold as backup ice (obviously not great but it will still help). water keeps, and trust me you will want water.
lower the temperature of your house and the fridge. again, in case the power goes out. it will keep you and your food cool until the storm passes
fill up the tubs, bathroom sink, and washing machine with water (leave the lid open so it will fill). use that water in case your toilet drains and you need to flush.
baby wipes are your friend
don’t do the X of duct tape on the window thing. it doesn’t do anything. get some plywood if you can and put it outside the window. a tarp over the window will also do, but not as good as plywood.
wash as much laundry as you can so all your clothes are clean. i recommend packing them in a suit case just in case you have to leave quickly. same with any medications or other things you need to take in case of evacuation
the safest place to be in the house is a windowless room, preferably that does not have any walls that go along the outside. several of us last year sat in the master bathroom closet during irma for this reason
if you have pets, make sure anything you need for them is ready to go (food, bowls, litter, carrier, etc.), again, just in case you need to get out
drag out a mattress or two into whatever area you will be primarily sitting in. not necessary, but adds comfortable seating or just helpful in case someone needs to sleep. i recommend keeping doors to rooms closed and everyone staying in the same place if possible. keep pets out of rooms so they will be in sight.
sandbags will help keep out water along the doors, but also set out some towels inside the house. i’ve had water shoot through the doorknobs more than one during hurricanes, and also still come in through the bottom of the door
buy canned goods. hit up the dollar store for those. everyone goes to the actual grocery store, but you’ll be surprised at the food you can find at the dollar store. canned ravioli is a godsend when you can’t heat up your food
also buy flashlights and batteries. again, you can find those at the dollar store
put as many cars into the garage (if you have one) as you can. that way in case any you have that are outside get damaged, you still will have a car ready to go. i recommend that whoever has the biggest car at least puts theirs in the garage, that way if all of you in your home need to leave, you can fit everyone in
keep the news on if you can, you don’t have to leave the volume up super loud or actively watch it, but it will keep you updated
find some board games to keep you entertained. we played a lot of head’s up (on our phones), cards against humanity, uno. you’re gonna get bored, so it’s just nice to have something to entertain and distract yourself with
i know that this is a lot but trust me when i say it’s better to be over prepared. lots of things can happen. floridians talk a lot of shit when it comes to not being scared of hurricanes, but it’s scary as hell, and last year was no joke. i’m fully expecting a lot to happen with these upcoming ones and i just want to make sure everyone stays safe. if you have any other specific questions, feel free to message me and i can help as best as i can
very good point! thank you! i dont have any info regarding what officials in the states are saying, so please stay safe everyone!
from what i can see coming from the nhc, florence is supposedly going to die down to a tropical storm/depression when it gets more inland, but those can definitely still cause flooding and everything, so if officials are saying to get out, please please please try to find a place to go!
you don’t know how long you’re going to be out of power so make sure your laptops are at full charge so you can charge your phones off them if/when your battery packs die. I had to do that last year at my shelter and it was a life saver for so many people. also, bring power strips so everyone can charge while there’s still power. not everyone will have thought of this and they will greatly appreciate it. you’re in this together. once the storm clears and it’s safe to use your car, charge through there and keep contact to everyone quick and at a minimum cos you don’t know how long you’ll have that signal.
all important papers- birth records, social security, insurance info, medical records, past two years of tax forms; take with you.
if you’re able to get a hotel, make sure it’s pet friendly by calling the hotel directly instead of going through a booking agent and even if they say they’re not, a majority of the time a lot of the other evacuees won’t listen and will have brought their pets too. bring a litter box and/or doggy bags, a small broom and dustpan, lint rollers and wet wipes to keep the hotel clean. I’ve had to do that in the past. if you have small fish that you bring, buy a small filtering bowl so that they’ll be comfortable too. hoard your toilet paper.
bring some bowls, cups, utensils, plates so that you can make some microwave dinners via canned food in the hotel room. also, salt and pepper. also, poptarts, goldfish snacks, snackbars, fruitstrips, powdered packet drinks. you don’t know how long you’re going to be eating on the bare minimum and having some variety will definitely help. yes, right now it may not seem like something you NEED but it will help keep the crankiness at bay later on, especially having a flavored water.
colouring books! if you get bored of games and reading and need some alone time, those help a lot. I was stuck in a 16×16 windowless room for three days last year with four other people and those kept me sane. (if you have a console and you’re in a hotel or at a friend’s/relative’s/work, hook that shit up and watch some movies and play some games until the power goes out. make it a sleepover.
if you’re not able to get plywood for your windows: bubblewrap > cardboard > duct tape around the edges. this has saved my pos windows many a times in the past. DO NOT CRISS CROSS THE GLASS WITH TAPE. any extra mattresses you’re not using or if you’re evacuating, prop up against the windows and move a dresser or something heavy in front of it. move all the expensive and heavy electronics/furniture away from the windows and cover them.
bring blankets, comforters, pillows.
before Florence makes official landfall, make sure to go outside the day before or of. get some fresh air before the wind and rain get really bad cos you’re going to be inside for what seems like a very long time and you’ll appreciate those few hours before it hits.
stay safe and dry xx
ONE MORE THING if you’re on medication, get that shit refilled ASAP. you’re allowed up to one to two weeks (depending) ahead of your regularly scheduled refill so get it cos you don’t know when or if you’re going to be able to get it next and it never hurts have it.
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