On September 12th of last year, Hurricane Ike slammed into Galveston and carried powerful winds and several inches of rain. Our neighborhood was unfortunate to be in Ike's path of destruction. Hundreds of trees were uprooted and many roofs were damaged. The area experienced major flooding, downed fencing and telephone poles lying in the streets. A 50 ft. tree fell through our backyard fence, barely missing our home. Trees were uprooted in our front yard and debris covered our lawn and street. I remember being awake at midnight, feeding my five-day-old baby, when the electricity went out. Little did I know it would be 15 days before the lights came back on.
Through our experience with Ike we learned many valuable lessons--especially that of being prepared for natural disasters. We were grateful we had enough food, water and flashlights. But we soon discovered many other items that helped us endure the long hot days without electricity. So here is a list of items we found to be most helpful...
1. Water Store plenty of water. Freeze some water bottles if you can, they will make great ice blocks in the event that your power goes out and you need to store food in coolers. Water bottles can be rationed nicely for drinking. Save your large water barrels for baths and dish washing. Also consider filling up the bathtubs in your home to help flush toilets, wash hands, etc.
2. Lanterns and Flashlights Flashlights are helpful, but lanterns are better! You will need one to cook with at night, one by the sink to wash dishes, one in a bathroom and one on the kitchen table. Give each of the children a flashlight he or she can use at night.
3. Batteries Make sure you have plenty of D's (for your lanterns), C's and AA's. Check each flashlight to make sure they all work and have new batteries.
4. Matches If you have a gas stove you will need these to light the burners.
5. Landline Telephone Wireless and cordless phones seldom work after a big storm. Landline phones will work, just plug them into the phone outlet.
6. Ice If you can predict when the storm is coming, freeze water bottles and purchase DRY/Normal ice. Ice becomes a rare, most wanted commodity. Dry ice lasts longer.
7. Food Now is the time to eat up the food in the freezer. If the power goes out you are likely to lose meats and other frozen items. Stock the pantry shelves with the following items:
Canned and Dry Goods (soups, fruits, veggies, beans, meats etc.) Purchase some dry cereal and pancake mix. Make sure the pancake mix does not require eggs. Stock up on honey and syrup.
Healthy Snacks Crackers, granola bars, pretzels, nuts, raisins, fruit leather, chocolate chips (if you are one who needs chocolate).
Lunch Items If a storm hits and causes destruction, our men will be asked to go out during the day and help storm victims. They will need to take food with them: Sliced bread, tuna, peanut butter, pudding, or anything from the shelf that is small and portable.
Luxury Pantry Items Fruit juice, Gatorade, Nutella, Ovaltine (to use with dry milk), cookies, trail mix.
8. Baby's Needs If you have a baby, stock the shelves with diapers, wipes, baby food and formula.
9. Garbage Bags You will have an abundance of trash. You will need the large, sturdy bags to pick up debris in your yard. Make sure you have plenty of garbage bags in your kitchen as well. The trash collectors do not come if the roads are blocked with trees or debris. Plan to pile up the garbage safely so that the smell can be contained and rodents and other animals do not invade your neighborhood.
10. Paper Goods You will not want to waste water on washing plates and flatware. Purchase large amounts of plates, utensils and cups. You will also want plenty of paper towels and napkins. Be sure to stock up on toilet paper and sanitary supplies.
11. Cash Make sure you have cash on hand--preferably in small bills. Many stores may not be able to accept debit/credit cards.
12. Propane If you do not have a gas stove, purchase an extra propane tank for your grill.
13. Generator Consider your need for electricity. If you want to run a refrigerator, washer, fan or even your television you will need electricity. Generators do not run by themselves so you will need a lot of gas. Plan accordingly and stock up on gas before the storm hits.
14. Air Conditioner Window Unit or Fan During a hot Texas summer the heat becomes a major issue without air conditioning. A mid-size generator will support a window air conditioning unit in addition to other appliances. Even a small fan will provide relief from the heat.
15. All Weather Radio These crank radios will keep you informed of the storm's path and help you stay connected to the outside world.
16. Gas Make sure gas tanks are full in all vehicles.
17. Large Tarps and 2 x 4's You can cover roof damage by laying a tarp down and nailing 2 x 4's on the edges.
19. First Aid Kit and Insect Repellent
20. Pet Food
What has been helpful to you in the midst of a natural disaster? Please share!
14 comments:
Thanks for your insight! We have really been working hard on our food storage for the past year or two. I feel good about it, but there is so much more to do and things that I never thought of! Thank you for your list. I will start adding to my storage. I am grateful we have prophets who have counseled us to be prepared. I am also thankful for friends like you who help out too! Hope you guys have a safe and hurricane-free summer.
Great list Christine... I think take this list with me to the store as we try to stock up! ;)
I will add to it though... during Ike needed buckets to catch the water as it dripped in through our ceiling (from a tree falling on our roof). We used pots, but it would have been nice to have a couple buckets until it coule be repaired properly. But more importantly we needed a chain-saw to get the tree cut up and off our roof (which we did NOT have). Luckily we have a really nice neighbor with a chainsaw who spent all day in the rain, on our roof, helping Seth get it down. :) I would also say to stock up on diapers, formula/baby food, and toilet paper! :)
Christine . . thank you for sharing your list. We were some of the lucky people who weren't without electricity very long, but I knew after watching everyone else suffer we were not ready. I'm going to start preparing now.
I can't believe it's hurricane season again already. What a great list! Thanks for sharing.
I would add chocolate . . .
Since we missed the storm last year this was totally helpful!! Thank you thank you!
Thank you for posting this compilation! I will definitely use this in our preparations. One tip that helped us greatly the last go-round was finishing every single bit of laundry just before the storm hit. Then we were prepared to go without washing clothes for at least a week or more. This was a great help! Keep those helpful ideas comin'! :)
I hit Barnes and Noble the day before the storm came through and stocked up on new books for the kids. Had I known we would be without power for 15 days I would have bought more!
You should write a book. I like your clear concise tips. I read this thinking, "yes I can be prepared." I was grateful my husband watched the weather so I could prepare for the storm. When it looked like it had a chance it might veer in our direction I was able to go to beat the crowds at the store. I spent all night before the strom doing laundry and cleaning and I was glad, because 15 days was too long to go without a vaccuum. We also had tarps to lay down on our floor in the case of a roof leak and a leaky window--and like Tiffany said, buckets.
Thanks for all the reminders. I love your family picture by the tree. Hopefully this year won't be as bad, but it is so nice to be prepared. To add to the list...a sense of humor!
I like your list and especially agree with your points on water and canned goods/easy to prepare foods. . . .I would add caving headlamps - those are really great for parents at night. If you don't have enough lanterns, you can improvise with a water bottle and a flashlight on top :)
It's probably a big relief to feel prepared. HOpefully you won't need it this year! I think you've had your share of challenges!
I'm so glad to have your list of the must haves! Thanks for posting this so I can compare to my little list!
I'm am so grateful to you for sharing your advice. I will print this out and make sure we are better prepared. What a journal entry that week was for you.
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