Hurricane Preparation Tips for Families, Toddlers, and Pets

Satellite photo of a hurricane
Photo taken from https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e7/Felix_from_ISS_03_sept_2007_1138Z.jpg 

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 I'm a Miamian, born and raised, so I've witnessed several hurricanes ravage my beautiful city. My first (and scariest) hurricane was Andrew in 1992. But, more recently, Hurricane Irma paid us a nasty little visit. Miami lost some trees, phone service, electricity, cable, and internet for a while, but parts of the Florida Keys were destroyed.

My family and I were lucky enough to have survived the storm with minimal hiccups, and, now, I want to share some tips on how to prepare your family for the storm.

1. A few months before hurricane season starts, make your house as hurricane proof as possible.

We started looking into impact windows in May, found the right company for us in June, and by the end of July, we had all of our windows (except for one) changed to impact. Make sure to research how the windows stand up to high wind speeds or get shutters installed. Shutters are usually able to withstand higher wind speeds and will protect your windows from being damaged by any projectiles caused by the storm. I will say, though, that our windows stood up to Irma's 90+ mph winds without a problem. Comment below if you'd like to know the model of our windows or the company we used to install them.

Photo of plywood covering the door and other windows at the entrance to my house.
The window at the top of the door came in the wrong size, and that stalled the changing of the front door and side windows, so we just boarded everything up.

 2. Start preparing as soon as you hear that the storm may be coming.

On Labor Day (Monday), we heard that the storm might be headed our way, but we decided that the storm was still far away, so we went to the mall instead of stocking up on hurricane prep essentials. The next day, we were more certain that the storm was going to hit us, so I went to Publix with the intention of buying canned foods and water. The supermarket was packed with people, the canned and other nonperishable foods selection was abysmal, and they were already out of water.

Also, that same day, the lines to buy gas were longer than an hour in some gas stations.

The storm wasn't expected to hit for another four to five days!

Lesson learned: start buying water, canned goods, and gas as soon as you even hear mention of a potential storm headed your way.

Make sure to buy at least one week's worth of food and water (see tip # 3 for more specific water-related tips) to ride out the storm, and the aftermath. Roads may be impassable and a lot of places may be closed after the storm, so make sure to stock up.

3. Stock up on water.

One gallon of drinking water per day per person for at least a week is advised.

Also, fill your tub with water in case the water is shut off or contaminated after the storm; you can use this water to flush toilets, brush your teeth, bathe, or wash dishes.
IT in the sewer offering you some bottled water.
You don't want to have to buy water from this guy, so buy water as soon you can or fill up all your tupperware with water before the storm.

4. Buy lots of snacks!

Being anxious about the storm and being cooped up in the house for an extended period of time led us to stress eat. Luckily, I'd stocked up on a lot of snacks, and we had more than enough to ride out the storm.

Some of our favorite snacks to munch on during and after the storm included:
  • fruit cups,
  • granola bars,
  • cereal,
  • Ritz Handi Snacks (the little individual packs of crackers that come with cheese spread on the side),
  • various types of crackers,
  • various types of cookies,
  • assorted nuts,
  • shelf-stable yogurt,
  • and shelf-stable milk.

A pack of Hemp Milk Vanilla and a pack of Almond Milk Vanilla
Our shelf-stable milk options. We tried hemp milk for the first time during the storm, and even my picky toddler drank some, then decided she hated it. Luckily, we stored her regular whole milk in our freezer for the 36 hours that we didn't have power and both cartons survived! Hoorah!


You can read the rest of this post at ellanewriter.com.


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Comments

  1. Jessica LSeptember 29, 2017 at 3:40 PM

    These are such great tips! I would never think about prepping for entertainment for the kiddo!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. E. L. LaneSeptember 29, 2017 at 8:41 PM

      My daughter also had a lot of fun playing with the flashlights. Kids will play with almost anything. Lol

      Delete

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