We are now seeing a hurricane threat to the west coast of Florida and up east cost of the United States. For anyone in the path it's time to prepare by stockpiling supplies and preparing for a power outage. Remember outages can happen far from the eye of a hurricane. Florida has seen a huge increase in population and if you know a new arrival please help them prepare by sharing this post.
Today is the time to prepare.
•Find out which radio and TV stations are part of the emergency broadcast system for your local area. Also find out which stations will handle emergency broadcasts for school emergencies.
•Make sure your battery-operated clock is working and get batteries if not.
•Stock the freezer. Place resealable plastic bags or plastic containers filled with water in every empty space in your freezer. Foods stay frozen and will be safe longer in a full freezer and the ice will be safe water to drink and cook with after it melts.
•Fill gas cans so you can run a generator.
•Fill the propane tanks if you are going to use a camp stove or barbecue as an alternative way to cook.
•Get cash. If the power is out the ATM and credit cards won't work. Remember all cash should be in small denominations. Nothing over a $20.00 bill. All of mine are $10.00 or smaller. I don't want to overpay because someone doesn't have change.
•Check your Five-Day kits so they are ready to go with prescriptions, medications, reading glasses, food, water, clothing that fits, hygiene essentials etc. If you need to go to a shelter, you’ll be ready. (Don’t forget your masks at this time!)
•Stock up on non-food items, batteries, prescriptions, over the counter medications, paper plates and cups, etc.
•Fuel up the cars. Prepare now not just to be prepared to evacuate, but for shortages when or if others evacuate to your area.
•Stock up. You should have a three-month supply of food on hand but there are still a few things you may want to get now, bread, fresh fruit, and of course water and batteries. Eggs will keep without power a few days, milk will not. You may want to get a few boxes of shelf stable milk, chocolate milk, or almond drink, which are shelf stable and perfect for use during an outage. For toddlers and infants get cans of evaporated milk, they need the fats.
•Post evacuation checklist and make assignments. You can find the list in your Totally Ready Binder or find on the Totally Ready website. https://www.totallyready.com/shop Evacuation checklists are sold for only $2 or they are available in your Totally Ready Binder.
Prepare now before shelves and ATMs are empty and prices go up.
Also do the following:
1. Laundry. Do it now. Catch up so you don’t get caught without clean clothes after the power fails. Start the laundry while you work on the rest of the list. 2. Fill coolers, pitchers, pots and pans, with water especially if you are on a well. If power goes out so does the well and even water treatment plants can shut down making tap water unsafe to drink. Bathtubs can also be filled, and this water used for flushing and washing. 3. Turn the temperature down in the freezer and refrigerator. 4. Cook. Make a few meals that will be easy to heat or that can be eaten cold once power is out or you are busy dealing with the storm. 5. Make a sign now to place on the freezer and fridge: DO NOT OPEN Preserve food longer by leaving doors closed. When you need to get into either make a list before opening so you don’t stand staring trying to figure out what you need. 6. Wash all dishes. You will not want dirty dishes hanging around when water is at a premium. 7. Charge cell phone, iPod and HAM radio. If you lose power or have rolling blackouts you want to stay informed. 8. Place glow sticks and/or flashlights within easy reach in every room. 9. Confirm your out of area contact has all the phone numbers and email addresses of loved ones so they can be contacted. 10. Learn to use the manual release on the garage door if you don’t already know how to do this. In case of a power outage you want to be able to get the car out of the garage as quickly as possible if your home is damaged by the storm or you need to leave for other reasons. 11. Prune trees and bushes. Trees with branches too close to your home may do damage during a storm. Trees that are diseased may fall. 12. Clean out gutters. 13. Make sure your battery operated clock is working and get batteries if not. 14. If you have not done a home inventory take lots of photos around the house.
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