Preparing for a Hurricane: 15 Last Minute Ways to Get Ready

Hurricane season is upon us and for those in the storm path, preparation is key to getting through the storm in the best way possible.  But what if you haven’t prepared yet?  While it’s always better to be prepared ahead of time, here are 15 last minute things to do to help you be as prepared as possible!

1. Monitor local news for updates–on TV, radio, or online.  You may also be able to sign up for text alerts or emergency information phone calls through your local law enforcement’s reverse 911 system.
2. Evacuate.  If it’s not too last minute, and you live in an area that has received an evacuation notice, throw some survival supplies in your vehicle and get out of town.  Your area may have a shelter set up for evacuations or you can head to a friend or family member’s house out of the danger zone.  A great book to prepare for evacuations of all kinds is the Survival Mom’s No Worries Guide to Emergency Evacuations.
3. Close and secure storm shutters or board up windows.
4. Check your supplies at home and determine what foods you can eat with little preparation and that don’t need refrigeration over the next few days.
5. Hit the store for the things you’ll need.  The most common items you’ll be needing are food, toiletries, and possibly feminine hygiene or baby products.  Unfortunately, that’s what everyone else will be shopping for as well, so anticipate long lines and items out of stock.  This store trip is best done a week or more before the event, and I usually recommend staying away from stores in the hours leading up to a known disaster, but if you really need some supplies, go ahead and see what you can find.  You may get lucky.
6. Eat foods that will spoil or melt all over everything and ruin other foods if your power goes out.
7. Fill water containers. Here are the the pros and cons on some of the most common water containers.
8. Freeze some water containers to be used as ice blocks in your freezer or refrigerator in the event of a power outage.
9. Find flashlights and make sure they’re charged.  Need more light?  Here are nine great emergency light sources other than a flashlight.
10. Charge your cell phone.  If you have a charging phone case or portable phone charger make sure they are charged up as well.
11. Fill sand bags.  If you’re in an area that is expected to have flooding, get ready now to keep your home from getting wet.
12. Move light weight yard furniture and decorations indoors to keep them from sustaining damage or becoming projectiles.
13. Fill your gas tank.  And a gas can if you can.  As with the trip to the store, this is really best done long ahead of the storm’s arrival.  Many stations will run out of fuel in the days leading up to the hurricane’s landfall, and most won’t be able to pump if the power goes out.
14. Refill prescriptions.  If you are evacuating, send your prescription to a pharmacy out of the evacuation zone and near where you are evacuating to so you can get out of town faster.
15. Check on your neighbors–especially elderly or those with special needs or who may not be connected to news sources.

Stay safe out there!

Keep preparing! Angela