Down here in Florida, we know a thing or two about hurricane preparation. So, for all my friends out on the west coast about to face down their first-ever hurricane, I thought I’d offer my personal short list of things to do and have on-hand before the storm hits.
- Water (obviously). Bottles. Buy a big (like a disperser sized) bottle if you can’t find any smaller ones.
- Bleach. You can use this to treat water if you know what you’re doing and don’t poison yourself. You can also use it to help wash dishes.
- Flashlights/Lanterns/Candles. Duh.
- Charge everything. Cell phones, laptops, tablets. If you have an external or backup battery (I like camping batteries), change those, too.
- Gas up your car. I don’t care if you aren’t planning on bugging out. Gas will be short for a week or two. Plus, you can use your car to recharge your phones, etc.
- A radio. Yes, an honest-to-God, battery powered radio. If you don’t have one, download an app to turn your cell phone into an FM receiver. (You’ll need wired-headphones, however.)
- Canned food. Beans are great. Soup is great. Anything you can cook on a grill is great. Also, sardines, tuna, etc are good to eat cold (buy crackers!).
- A barbeque grill. You can use this to make coffee if nothing else.
- Charcoal.
- A coffee pot you can use on the grill.
- A deck of playing cards. (Trust me.)
- Board games.
- While you have power, freeze as many water bottles/jugs as can in your freezer. The more your freezer resembles a solid block of ice, the longer your food will stay good.
- Freeze a cup of water and leave it in the freezer. Once it’s frozen, drop a quarter on top. This will let you see how much your freezer has thawed after the fact.
- Medicines. (Duh.)
- Declutter your yard.
- Secure your garage door (weight it down).
Good luck!
Ash Clifton, Writer 