There's no way to properly prepare for a hurricane. There I said it. Doesn't mean we didn't try our best but when the winds twist hundred year old oak trees like wind up toys you know everything you're doing pales before the might of the storm. Irma was a monster, devouring everyting in her path, leaving Caribbean islands uninhabitable, prompting an evacuation that just may be the single largest mass movement of humans to date. Such was her power.
But, prepare we did. I won't get into the obvious; put up boards and store water etc. Here's what else we learned.
People are complicated. The neighbor you only give a nod, may be the same neighbor that helps you fix your fence or share a generator drop line to power your fridge. Take time to know your neighbors. Seriously, take the time. In a disaster, they are your first responders. Be a good neighbor. I can't express how much help my own neighbors have been to me during the days after the storm.
Water and gas run out quickly. Keep large containers handy for both. When the bottled water runs out, Publix and Walmart have purified water dispensers available, but no containers to store it. Solution? Buy large bottles of water for your normal use. Keep the empties. Refill the empties in an emergency. Gas containers disappear during a storm. Have at least a five gallon container handy. Fill early. During an impending gas shortage, the gas stations may not allow you to fill these. As an aside, bread too disappears. We discovered long ago, you can freeze bread and thaw out when needed. That's what we regularly do, so empty bread shelves didn't trouble us overmuch. In addition, we bake bread (we found an amazing no knead recipe we use all the time. Literally 10 mins prep, two hours for the yeast to rise, then in the oven for half an hour. Ask me if you want the recipe).
The power will go out during the storm. That means cable goes, wifi goes and cell service may go as well. A simple battery operated transistor radio will keep you aware of the tornado alerts that accompany most hurricanes. During Irma, Central Florida had a tornado warning almost every hour. Without power, we would not have known when to get to the safest part of our home. Battery operated radios are almost impossible to find during a storm. Get yours before the hurricane season.
Learn to improvise. Plyboard ran out. Folks were purchasing sheets of cabinet wood (fifty dollars a sheet) to board up windows. We decided to use metal roofing sheets. Yeah, I know, it's not thick enough, so we doubled them and screwed them into the concrete with tapcons and metal washers. Those suckers didn't move. Better than nothing and our windows were just fine. After the hurricane season, we'll go look for suitable plyboard and cut them to fit. Note, if your handyman put up your shutters, they won't come down till he comes around. But if you know how they went up, and you have proper tools, you can get them down yourself.
Buy and keep a camping stove. We use a two burner propane stove in my lanai. (Curry smells will not leave your home if you dare cook it inside). I overheard an angry man abuse a publix manager because she would not let him buy an empty propane tank; he offered her 100 dollars. Keep a propane tank handy. Easy to refill, but not easy to find during an emergency.
Don't be in a hurry to take the shutters down. Without power, ADT or other monitoring services will not respond. Better your windows are boarded up and you swelter inside, than leave a window unguarded during a prolonged blackout. Following this point, battery operated fans are a rarity. Order a few and keep them for emergencies. You'll thank me later.
Sandbags are murder. Trust me. I had to fill fifteen from a mound the size of a small truck. Ordinary direct sunlight had me sweating, dizzy and exhausted in less than 10 minutes. If you have to fill your own, take water. Wear a hat. Pick a location shaded by trees. Most importantly ask the site manager if they fill the damn things. We spent two hours dying, one shovel at a time. On our way out of the sand pit, we rounded the exit and discovered a small crew of workmen using a mini tractor to fill the bags. I may have cussed but my memory of that day is spotty. Heatstroke and all that.
Protein shakes. Yeah yeah. But think about it. When we prepared our bug out bags, we dug a huge bag of protein powder out of the pantry. One scoop in water, three hundred Calories, proteins and some vitamins. I put it quietly in the car trunk with the mixing bottle and was glad to do it. Power was out for three days. Guess what I had for breakfast?
Improvise power. My neighbor invited me in to see his setup. He connected a deep cycle marine battery to an inverter and powered up a fan and his TV. He said he plugged his refrigerator in for three hours at a time just to keep it cool. I'll be the first to admit, I don't know enough about marine batteries and inverters to pronounce on them; however for the three days I was out of power, he had fans going. TV to look at, and a refrigerator full of food. I'd say it's worth an investigation at the battery dealership.
Tyre repair kits. This one was a doozy. My neighbor drove out right after the storm. He made it to the end of the road, then turned around and limped back to his garage with a puncture. I stood in admiration as he took the tire off, found the puncture with soapy water, then plugged the damn hole with a kit he keeps in the car trunk. Took him half an hour to get back on the road. After a storm, there's crap all over the streets. Glass, metal shards. Who knows. If you're handy, you can help yourself. No tow trucks or triple A for days.
Bleach. Right now our county has a 'boil water' advisory. But if you don't have power or a stove, how will you sanitize your tap water? Bleach works. Unscented, 8.25% hypochlorite bleach can sterilize your water for home use. Somewhere around six to eight drops to one gallon of water will do the trick. (I'd consult an expert source to make sure). But imho, bleach should be a regular part of your hurricane supplies.
These are a few of the things I learned by surviving Irma. I'm not ashamed to admit, when that wind blew, it blew my mind. The house creaked like an old rocking chair. I heard thumps, suspicious thuds, tearing sounds and violent rattling. And that's before the storm. During the storm, I watched huge trees twist around and snap. I watched my neighbors fence bob and half fall before the wind picked it up like a sail and tumble it into the trees behind his house. I felt the wind eddy into my back porch and shake the sliding doors in their frames till they trembled like cold abandoned children. (We opened the porch doors to experience the storm). I was helpless before Irma. Where it blew, we resisted, but thank God, it spared us.
For those deeply hurt by Irma, you have our deepest prayers and our hands should you need them. I'll end by saying, don't wait for the next Atlantic event friends.
Get prepped.
Now.
