Lots of chatter in the emergency management and response community about the hurricane projections for this year. Most models are suggesting an above average year with some showing conditions that could create a record or near record year. (It will be a record or near record year for global temps.) If you're in a hurricane-vulnerable area, here are a few things to think about: Figure out how you will survive without electricity. With the pandemic, power company responses that depend on bringing in workers from neighboring states may not be as robust this year, so plan for extended periods without juice. Plan how you will evacuate. Do you have a place to go? If it's with elderly relatives, you may want to rethink that. Communicate with your people now and set the protocols. Maybe have several options in different directions and different intervals (traffic limits distance) if you can swing it. This is definitely the year to get out before flood waters trap you. Do your food and emergency shopping now. You don't want to be in crowded stores fighting for bread or plywood as the storm bears down. Don't depend on shelters. They may not be open or be severely restricted in numbers because of physical distancing requirements. Organize your papers and valuables so you can pack them quickly without forgetting stuff because you're under stress. Think about how to safely help others where you can. Any community plan that depends on mass transit will be difficult to pull off at best, so be aware of folks around you who have limited transportation options. Sign up for local alerts. Choose good sources of info. Don't expect normal quickly. Like utility workers, the number of volunteers and recovery specialists that show up after a major disaster come from all over. This year, they will probably come in much fewer numbers. To remove mold from flooded homes, you need people, masks, other PPE, and hand sanitizer if there is no running water. Good luck with that. After a hurricane, there will almost certainly be an outbreak of COVID-19. The demands of the hurricane response will at times override the virus countermeasures. Be aware of this dynamic and operate in as safe as manner as you possibly can because the limited medical facilities stand a good chance of being overwhelmed. (How will we evacuate COVID-19 hospitals in the face of a hurricane?) Get prepared, stay distant, and stay safe.
The whining about self quarantining basically says alot of the prepping is just bs. Alot of those survivalist are just .. . . not ready Rocket River
Those guys have so emasculated themselves and are such personal failures, they have to invent a fantasy to give their lives meaning, to feel special and smarter. Of course, there are plenty of people standing by and ready to sell them a bunch of crap to further that fantasy.
Well said, as usual. We always offer our place in Austin as a refuge for close family members, but they never take us up on it, and so far, they've been lucky avoiding the worst of some really bad storms. I'm not sure what would happen if it got bad enough that they actually took us up on it this year with COVID-19. We'll still offer, but we're also in high risk territory. Great advice, rimrocker. I'm thinking of copying that and sending it to some folks in the Houston area. Thanks.
Well... we have five months worth of emergency food with a 25 year shelf life (with plans of getting more), 100 surgical masks/gloves, two pairs of swimming goggles, a couple of first aid kits, purchased a deep freezer and filled it up, otc medicine, an impressive water supply, and some home protection left over. I think we’re prepared for the next one at least. But seriously, this thread opened my eyes to needing to be prepared for when ish goes down... fires, earthquakes, thunderdome, zombie apocalypse, etc. We’re considering Tesla Powerwall at the moment. Thx, @rimrocker .
One of the things my father taught me when we were growing up in Hurricane alley - otherwise known as Baytown, was to take empty milk gallons, rinse them out and fill them with water, and put them in the deep freeze, we had about 20 of them in our deep freeze when Alicia hit - we were able to take them out one at a time and put one or two into the fridge to keep our food safe, and once they melted we had drinking water. I do that to this day, I have about 10 in my garage freezer - and it also helps save money in the freezer as it doesn't have to work as hard to keep it frozen. DD
I do this as well with an extra freezer and it was extremely useful after the big freeze and blackout.
