Hurricane season is here

baymule

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It's that happy time of year where we have the possibility of a hurricane or two or three. Direct hits aren't a lot of fun, in the general vicinity usually brings some much needed rain. Weeks with no power, heat, lost work time=no money, possible damage, did I mention heat with no AC? So it's time to make preliminary preparations.

I need to put the kerosene lamps in a easy to lay hands on in the dark, spot. Get more lamp wicks and kitchen matches.

I already have wheat and an electric/hand operated mill. Bread is always the first thing to fly off the shelf.

Right before a storm, I usually go buy 2 big plastic trash cans with lids, put them on the front porch and fill with water. Then I fill buckets and put in the bathroom for flushing the toilet. The water here in our little town stays on, but the last storm knocked out power so long that the water tower was nearly drained. I also fill pots in the kitchen and make sure every animal waterer is full.

Also, right before a storm, I stock up on animal feed so I don't run out. Dog, chicken and horse feed. I don't keep a lot of those normally because in our summer heat, it can get old and musty.

I already can and dehydrate, the freezer is a problem though. Last time, (hurricane Ike) our power was off 3 1/2 weeks and we kept the freezer alive with a generator. However, gas is hard to find, it deteriorates rapidly due to the ethanol in it and can't be stored for long at all, so no stocking up beforehand and it gets rather expensive.

Most of the big trees around the house were so storm damaged that they have been taken down. Ike did bring one crashing down on the house and that is no fun at all. There are a couple in a next door neighbors yard that I look at and hope they keep standing.

I need to stock up on charcoal and lighter fluid for cooking out on the pit. Hurricane Rita saw us digging a hole in the back yard, taking the rack out of the oven and cooking over it. I didn't have a bar-b-que pit then, but I do now.

My 90 year old mother lives with us, if there is no power, she would be miserable. Finding somewhere for her to go would be a problem. My sister lives in a neighboring town, most of the time if we don't have power, she does, so that's a possibility.

I keep the pantry well stocked.

I usually wash all the clothes right before the storm hits so we can go several weeks before it becomes a real problem. You know, dig through the pile for the cleanest dirty shirt-that sort of thing. haha

Before a storm, I pick up everything in the yard that winds could turn into a flying projectile and put in the garage. We park vehicles across the street in a tire store parking lot.

Well I guess that sums it up for now. I am always in a state of readiness, but there are always little details to tend to before impending disaster.
 

frustratedearthmother

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Baymule, I'm right there with ya! Told DH the other day it's time to get fresh gas and stabilizer to put in the cans. We don't let the cars get below half a tank either. I'll stay through a Cat 3, but anything stronger than that - I'm outta there! We're too close to the coast to fool around with anything bigger.

Yep, stock up on animal feed - yep, store water. We have two of those big 275 gallon totes for livestock water which will work just as well for flushing the toilets - along with a pond.

Charcoal and lighter fluid - yep. Propane canisters for the camping stove work well and last longer than you'd expect. Batteries for some flashlights but during Ike we found that those little solar powered landscape lights are nice. They're not terribly bright, but they're rechargeable and they don't put out heat like a candle does... and with no A/C even a candle makes too much heat!

Like you, we've got plenty of food stored so I never go out and buy canned goods. DH is diabetic so we don't really even worry about bread - but what I do enjoy is homemade tortillas. Quick and easy to make and only take a few seconds to cook as opposed to baking bread.

One thing I don't have is a chain saw - somebody stole mine a few years ago and I haven't replaced it yet. Neighbors have one though and last time I paid him to finish taking down a damaged tree.

Six months of intent weather watching to come - hang on and pray for the best!
 

baymule

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I bake bread before the storms hit. Afterward, with no power, it's flour tortillas on the pit. I have a flat iron (round) griddle that is perfect for it. Those solar landscape lights sound like a good idea. I think I'll get some of those!
 

rhoda_bruce

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One more incentive to finish the barn. I don't need 2 pregnant does riding out a storm, with exposed sides, open and no table to mount.

I admit to needing to fuel up. I have a whole house generator, but I'm always worried they shut off the gas if its bad enough. I usually put a 50 gallon drum of water for kitchen use, just in case. I have retained my children's bath water to flush with, but its not normally necessary....to tell the truth, sometimes I put a bedside commode in my unfinished bathroom because to tell the truth, chances are I will have water, but won't be able to flush......high water.

I never like to run out of anything and especially hate to not have what I need after a storm.
 

Marianne

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Wow! A couple hours ago a tornado was headed this way, but it stalled and eventually lost it's umph. I have plenty of chow, animal chow, water, etc but there's not much left after a tornado goes by. Hurricanes would be worse, IMO.

One good thing about living in the midwest is that people help others. When a tornado hit a small town close by a few years ago, they were turning people away as there was too much help.
 

Denim Deb

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My daughter gave me a neat thing for power outages/camping. It's a hand cranked am/fm clock radio w/weather channels, a flashlight and a place to charge a cell phone or tablet. It also runs on regular batteries, and it also has a solar charger on it. I don't know where she got it from, but here's a link where you can buy it on line.
 

robinhoodie

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I think I read somewhere that the amount of hurricanes per year had actually gone down. But it's always good to be prepared, they are a reality!
 

the_whingnut

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One thing I have learned from hurricanes & the aftermath, keep a 96 hour kit on stand by (my camping kit) and cash couple hundred if you can. Some stores will open shortly after a store but only take cash.
 

frustratedearthmother

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Yep, cash is a good thing to have on hand! But, we don't think in terms of "hours" of supplies - we think in weeks, lol.
 
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