I hope you found the Infographic useful (there is code for sharing it at the bottom of this post). You can print from a PDF of it here. Share with friends 🙂
I decided to expand on it in more detail below.
Here are the top 5 categories of supplies to have in your hurricane preparedness kit. I encourage you to plan well before a storm, to avoid the stress of the panic buying crowds.
I am including some links to my other posts if you want more detail.
Water
- 1 to 2 gallons of drinking water per person per day. That takes into account some needed for cooking, but don’t underestimate how much water a person will drink, especially if the storm knocks out your power and air-conditioning for days or weeks.
- Fill up pots and other containers and put lids on all of them or use plastic wrap to cover. This is important to keep contaminated water and dirt out of your supply.
- Buy a water purification filter or filter bottle. The filter bottle uses a simple process of filling from a puddle or lake, and the built-in filter slowly cleans the water and moves it to the clean, drinkable side. Takes time as it uses gravity, but it will supply an almost unlimited supply of drinking water.
- TIP – Store some bottled water and get a filter bottle.
Food
- Before buying special food, review your pantry and cabinets and make a list the non-perishable foods you normally have on-hand. Look for canned and packaged foods that do not require refrigeration.
- Think of how you could use one or more to create a simple meal with no or limited cooking.
- Make a list of additional foods to round out your hurricane food list.
- Hurricanes are a disaster that gives you advanced warning, so you do not need to buy additional food until the threat becomes more clear. That said, always keep 3 days worth of non-perishable food on-hand. Buy the rest as soon as the forecast threat becomes clear – but try to beat the crowds.
- Another option is to buy some Meals-Ready-to-Eat, also called MREs. An MRE is a prepared meal (some are really tasty and there are even vegetarian version), that are sealed in a package that last for years an years. They even can include things like self-heating packets and even desserts.
- You may not have electric power, so unless you want to eat room-temperature food, you need to buy a camping stove. Propane or alchohol power stoves can be simple one burners to full multi-burner stove tops. Make sure you have enough fuel and all hoses and connectors.
- Do not operate a stove of any kind inside where carbon-monoxide could build up. It is an invisible poison that can kill you.
- Don’t forget waterproof matches and a hand-operated can opener!
Light
- LED flashlights give a bright light and use less energy. There are rechargable ones, but you should also have one or more that run on replaceable batteries, like AA, AAA, C or D. Don’t forget extra batteries.
- Candles and other camping lanterns should not be operated inside a building where carbon-monoxide could build up. It is an invisible poison that can kill you.
- One very useful device is a combination Flashlight / AM / FM / NOAA Weather Radio / that uses replaceable batteries, built-in solar panel, and hand crank power. Get one with a USB port for recharging cell phones.
Medical
- A good, general purpose first aid kit.
- Spare glasses and contact supplies.
- Hearing aid batteries.
- 7 day or more supply of medications. You might not have access to a pharmacy for days or weeks.
Information
- Paper copies of contacts from your cell phones – include name, address, phone(s), email. You may lose power on your phone and need to contact others from a Red Cross center.
- Printout of shelter locations and evacuation maps. Again, your GPS maps on your phone may not work.
- Insurance policy info – life, medical, homeowners, flood, renters…
- Medical condition and doctor contact info.
- Emergency prescriptions – get your doctor to write some paper ones just in case.
Again, that is just the top 5 things. For a really comprehensive list, I have a written a free, 22 page PDF guide called the “Essential Hurricane Kit & Records Planner”. Please sign up to get a printable comprehensive list of supplies, with additional bonus forms for all your information records too.
Click the button below to get your copy now…
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Be safe – be prepared – and good luck!
