[commoguy]

what did you learn about yourself, supplies/gear, the area after the hurricane?

for me i learned that as much as i hate to say it my wife will be quite a hinderance. we didnt have power for 13 days and were offered by 5 different people to goto places that had power she refused. also her idea of survival food is not up to par. as for myself it was interesting coming home from iraq to my house where it was not so stocked with food and trying to find places with canned soup, bread and other items directly after the storm. on the plus side i had enough shotgun ammo to last and didnt need it because we live in fairly good community. there were only a few places that seemed to be gouging for the most part people seemed helpful and what not. although i definitely need to pickup some more stuff things werent too bad overall. definitely need to invest in a generator and more camping gear. i think the wife is onboard for minor prepping and means it this time.

edit something i noticed and i feel kind of stupid for asking but is unscented bleach the same as regular bleach? i found and bought regular bleach but since i dont go sniffing bleach all the time i dont know lol

 

[kev]

Get out, get out early and have a place to go.

Well, I already knew that from hurricane rita.

 

[voiderest]

One thing about leaving though is not needing to leave. Some people don't really need to then, like kev alluded to, wait too long. Not only does that put themselves at risk but also the people that do need to get out by slowing down routes out.

 

[tx_star]

Get out, get out early and have a place to go.

Well, I already knew that from hurricane rita.

I agree...Actually, my sons were calling me 4 days before asking when I was coming. They were persistent

 

[Maurepas]

From several hurricanes.

First off, don't build a house on a slab if you live anywhere near the Gulf or near any body of water which may flood. Ever. Build up, go high.

When you build your house high, make sure you then add hurricane strapping to help keep it in place during high winds and working shutters.

Put lots of windows in that house so you have cross ventilation in times of no electricity.

If you have a wall air conditioner unit and a means to run it, it's even better than leaving windows open because the air conditioner also dehumidifies. With flood water all around you and all the heat, the humidity is bad even by our usual standards. We put a one in the bedroom and one in the living room. Ran one at night and the other during day, closing off unused part of house. Stayed very comfortable.

If you are evacuating, make the decision early and have a plan. Last minute travel is ill advised and can be very dangerous.

Take valuables, cash, all important papers with you. I keep copies of all my insurance papers, etc. in a ziplock bag in a BOB. I also have copies scanned and loaded on a remote server for retrieval if and when needed.
Important family photos have also been scanned and saved to server.
My business computers get backed up to remote server.

If you leave, bag all your fridge/freezer food up in heavy duty garbage bags and leave in place. If you don't loose electricity, no big deal. If you loose electricity and you have a friend/neighbor who stayed and wants the food, makes it easy for them to grab and give them permission and access before you leave. If nobody stays and takes the food, makes it easy to throw away. Cleaning a fridge full of rotten food sucks.

I freeze a paper cup of water and drop a penny on top of the ice. Check when you get back to see if the food is safe to eat. Penny submerged, trash the food.

Turn off water, gas and throw all breakers except the fridge/freezer. That's to prevent power surges to central air, TV's, etc.

If I leave, my Honda Generators fit in my truck tool box and go with me along with a small "generator support" bag with oil, extra plugs, Sea Foam.

Even if I have a planned destination, I take all the gear needed to stay in my truck or make camp in a pasture if I have to. You never know when the plan will go screwy and you have to make a new one.

Chainsaws, gas, oil should also be taken as they may be needed to get back home. I run it before I leave to make sure they work when I need them.

Always fill all boat and vehicle fuel tanks prior to storm. If you are able to get back in or if you never leave, that's what will be used to run your generators. If there is a storm anywhere in the Gulf, my tanks get topped and stay topped.

Any vehicles left behind should be taken to high ground if possible.

If my boat is left in the water, We add extra lines with enough play to allow it to ride up and down. If the boat gets pulled out of the water, it should be strapped to a trailer. It may float the trailer but if strapped, will at least stay on the trailer. We secure the boat trailer with ropes so the whole darn thing does not float away.

Keep tarps stored in case your roof is damaged and you have to patch.

Those are just the things that come to mind. After you do it a few times, you kinda get a system.

I didn't evacuate for Gustav. I knew my house could withstand the predicted winds and though I'm on the water, I'm built well above flood stage. I ended up with wind damage but my roof held up.

Was reminded of what great neighbors I have. Even during the height of the storm, we were texting each other to check in. When the big trees started to go down, we were able to let each other know as we witnessed damage. When pieces of my home started to fly across the river, my neighbor texted to see if the stuff was coming from me. He could see the debris flying across but couldn't see where it was coming from.

We actually got together prior to the storm to figure out who was staying, who was going. Homes were opened up to those who felt their own home was too dangerous. Lots of teamwork before, during and after the storm.
Lots of sharing, helping. And each night we took turns cooking, gathering together, eating well and having a few drinks.

Just a few things that come to mind. Hope it helps someone.

 

[Grinnan Barrett]

YOu can lose all your stuff just don't lose your life or more importantly the lives of your family. As Kev said , "get out early"

 

[Dwind]

I learned not to use your emergency rations for lunches at work. And that rice and beans need to be cooked.

GAWD did I fudge that one...