# Hurricane Prepping



## Piratesailor (Nov 9, 2012)

For my prepping, I basically do a risk analysis. I've mentioned it on other threads. For me, the most likely risk and significant impact is a hurricane striking or coming close my area (texas coast). I will be the first to admit that during Ike, I was caught with the proverbial "pants around my ankles" and was not sufficiently prepared. Shame on me since I've been through a number of hurricanes in the past. 

Knowing that we have a number of folks on the forum that are either on the coast or in states that can get hammered by a hurricane, I'd like to hear how others have addressed their preps for this type of event.


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## HuntingHawk (Dec 16, 2012)

First is you have to survive the hurricane itself. That means both wind & flooding. For me, I've chosen a 20ft shipping container which in itself is capable of handling 150MPH winds. Having it well anchored down is critical as is a place where it won't flood.

If you live in the country you will be the last to receive help/aid as well as the last to have electricity restored. But there are advantages also. Mainly that most have their own well & septic system. The septic system takes care of the issue of sanitation. A generator & stored fuel will take care of operating the well pump. Half an hour of running the well pump should be all that is needed. Fill water containers & cold shower from a garden hose. Probably will need two hours of running the generator to keep the frig/freezer cold & make ice.

LP gas BBQ with side burner & spare 20lb bottle will take care of cooking.


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## HuntingHawk (Dec 16, 2012)

2004 we had two serious hurricanes exactly two weeks apart. Only issue I had was finding fuel for the generator.


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## HuntingHawk (Dec 16, 2012)

Severe winds & heavy rains can last 12 hours or more. So I have a $50 porta potti from Walmart in the storm shelter. But between my house & septic tank I put in an inline dump pipe with screw on cap. 5gal bucket with trash bag in it would work as an alternative but then going to be hard to dispose of & you are taking a risk the trash bag doesn't leak.


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## Maine-Marine (Mar 7, 2014)

I have gone though many hurricanes.. Florida and Okinawa

1. Be above the HIGHEST water line in a secure building

2. Have enough food and water (meds) for 7 days

3. Have books and games...you will get bored


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## HuntingHawk (Dec 16, 2012)

Being hurricanes are at the hottest time of the year, being able to make or get ice can be critical. And if fuel isn't going to be a problem, having a cool room will make a big difference. I lined the inside of my shipping container with OSB & have a 10,000BTU air conditioner installed.


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## Big Country1 (Feb 10, 2014)

Ive been through several as well. My home is towards the top of a large hill, so flooding isnt a large concern. Like stated above, getting through it is the main part. Fuel is the only thing i have ever ran short of. but never had a real problem except some minor roofing damage on the house and barn\workshop.


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## rice paddy daddy (Jul 17, 2012)

To show you how far our preps date back, they are the exact reason we live where we do.
Let me explain.................
I grew up in Southeast Florida and lived there for many years and for many storms.
In 1995, working for a nationwide corporation, I was offered a promotion + moving expenses if we would relocate. We wanted out of Palm Beach County. Badly. Very badly. Just 3 years earlier Andrew had totally eliminated the city of Homestead, the NOAA wind gauge breaking when it reached its 212 MPH limit. We felt the effects 75 miles away, where it was still a Cat One storm.
Hurricanes was one of the main reasons; plus crime, and over population. 
The options given us: Pensacola, Tampa, Charleston, or Jacksonville.
Pensacola: a magnet for Gulf hurricanes. Tampa: gets its share of tropical storms. Charleston: another hurricane magnet. 
Jacksonville: one hurricane in the past 100 years.
It was a no-brainer.
And our property lies 40 miles inland. Way past having to worry about storm surge. Living near the beach is for people who have never experienced anything bigger than a Cat One hurricane.

In summation - if we take hurricane preps seriously enough to uproot and move, you can bet your bottom dollar our other preps are squared away.


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## tango (Apr 12, 2013)

Hurricane season is thru the hottest part of the year.
Living in Florida, I have been thru too many hurricanes.
Secure your home against the wind and damage from flying debris.
Get a generator and some fuel.
You will need to power your freezer and refrigerator for a few hours a day, and run fans.
Store water. Plan on cooking on your BBQ grille, or a micro plugged into the generator.


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## rice paddy daddy (Jul 17, 2012)

HuntingHawk said:


> If you live in the country you will be the last to receive help/aid as well as the last to have electricity restored. But there are advantages also. Mainly that most have their own well & septic system. The septic system takes care of the issue of sanitation. A generator & stored fuel will take care of operating the well pump. Half an hour of running the well pump should be all that is needed. Fill water containers & cold shower from a garden hose. Probably will need two hours of running the generator to keep the frig/freezer cold & make ice.
> 
> LP gas BBQ with side burner & spare 20lb bottle will take care of cooking.


This is basically our set up. Country living, well, septic.
Our well runs on 220, but the well guy showed me how to rig it to run on 110, complete with how to make a pig tail to hook it up.
Our kitchen stove is gas, we run it on the 20 pound BBQ size tanks. We have 7 tanks total, with two on the stove - when one empties I take it into town and get it filled. This means we always have 6 full at all times. That would last 6 to 8 months, more if we really limited useage.
And, JUST in case, we have stock piled charcoal and lighter fluid for the several grilles/smokers we have.


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## Diver (Nov 22, 2014)

Here in NJ you wouldn't think we would get Hurricanes but we do get hit a few years in a row, followed by a decade where people get complacent. In addition to the coastal damage most would expect we get lots of downed trees, often landing on someone's roof or taking out a power line or blocking a road.

In addition to the points above remove large trees that could strike your house. Own a chain saw. If you can manage a generator that is run off natural gas or propane, it is a huge convenience.

To put this in perspective, my electric company needed to remove 45,000 downed trees to restore service after Sandy.

Hurricanes are forecast days in advance. Use that time. Fill gas tanks and get some groceries. If directed to evacuate, do it.


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## Arklatex (May 24, 2014)

Off topic but after hurricane Katrina, the crime rate skyrocketed in many cities like Dallas and Houston. Just something to watch for if your area receives evacuees from a high crime city after a hurricane. Something for inlanders to keep in mind.

Here is an old article about it.

http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/HurricaneKatrina/story?id=1320056


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## Ralph Rotten (Jun 25, 2014)

So do you guys who have lived on the coast all your lives think storm fury and frequency has increased with global warming?


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## Slippy (Nov 14, 2013)

Growing up on the Gulf Coast (and experiencing many hurricanes and tropical storms) is the main reason that I started simple preps many years ago. Power outages were common but a power and WATER outage in 1979 was an eyeopener. Back then you had very little availability of bottled water like you do now. 

Flashlights and spare batteries were abundant in my homes going back as far as I can remember. Candles, extra food that took little preparation, extra gasoline, chainsaws, etc were all "staples" of Gulf Coast Hurricane preparations.

Even though we live Inland now, we are still aware and prepared for the onset of hurricane/storms etc. We are much more prepared today than my old man was 40-50 years ago thats for sure!


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## rice paddy daddy (Jul 17, 2012)

Ralph Rotten said:


> So do you guys who have lived on the coast all your lives think storm fury and frequency has increased with global warming?


No. Not at all.


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## rice paddy daddy (Jul 17, 2012)

Diver said:


> In addition to the points above remove large trees that could strike your house. Own a chain saw.
> To put this in perspective, my electric company needed to remove 45,000 downed trees to restore service after Sandy.


Our property was originally a small part of a tree farm. Pines planted 12X6 - that means in rows 12 feet apart, a tree every 6 feet. Like corn.
We completely cleared the two acres around the house after a wildfire came through.
One neighbor still has trees 60 + feet tall, as do we out in the back. But none can hit our house, or stables. A shed or two, yes, but some things are unavoidable.
Plus, we move our vehicles close to the house any time even a storm front passes through if there is a forecast of big winds.


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## Slippy (Nov 14, 2013)

Ralph Rotten said:


> So do you guys who have lived on the coast all your lives think storm fury and frequency has increased with global warming?


First, if you are referring to the politically motivated made up scam called "man-made global warming", well it simply does not exist.

If you are referring to climatic change also called weather...my answer is that the facts show that some storms are stronger and more furious than other storms. Facts prove that has been the case for as long as modern weather record keeping has been in existence.


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## rice paddy daddy (Jul 17, 2012)

Slippy said:


> First, if you are referring to the politically motivated made up scam called "man-made global warming", well it simply does not exist.
> 
> If you are referring to climatic change also called weather...my answer is that the facts show that some storms are stronger and more furious than other storms. Facts prove that has been the case for as long as modern weather record keeping has been in existence.


As recently as the 1970's scientists were warning about "the coming ice age."
Shows how much the alleged experts know.


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## Slippy (Nov 14, 2013)

And I just wanted to make note that the disaster following Katrina could have been minimized if the idiot mayor of New Orleans and the incompetent governor of Louisiana at the time had done their jobs.


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## CWOLDOJAX (Sep 5, 2013)

Ralph Rotten said:


> So do you guys who have lived on the coast all your lives think storm fury and frequency has increased with global warming?


Nope.


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## Ralph Rotten (Jun 25, 2014)

Slippy said:


> First, if you are referring to the politically motivated made up scam called "man-made global warming", well it simply does not exist.
> 
> If you are referring to climatic change also called weather...my answer is that the facts show that some storms are stronger and more furious than other storms. Facts prove that has been the case for as long as modern weather record keeping has been in existence.


You realize that even Fox news had to retract their stance on global warming (especially after it became known that the Pentagon was planning for the issue.) Rush Limbaugh, Hannity, and John Justice are not scientists. You need to expand your reading to include actual scientists. 
Global warming is fact. The only debate is how much mankind has influenced it. Last year Arizona clocked the warmest year ever recorded.


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## Oddcaliber (Feb 17, 2014)

Having a front row seat for Katrina I can say first hand that even I was taken by surprise. If the levies had held the most we could expect was power being out for a while. My area got 3' of water but it went quickly. Behind whare I lived was the CSX rail yard. The water current was strong it washed the dirt and rocks from under the tracks. Our biggest problem was fresh water or lack of. That was my fault. Now if they say leave, I'm going!


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## Ralph Rotten (Jun 25, 2014)

Do you guys work with bilge pumps for your basements and floodable areas? I am curious how they hold up to the mud n crap that you get hit with.


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## Big Country1 (Feb 10, 2014)

Ralph Rotten said:


> Do you guys work with bilge pumps for your basements and floodable areas? I am curious how they hold up to the mud n crap that you get hit with.


No basements around here, even where im at if you dig down 4 or 5 feet your hole will fill with water. Im not sure about upstate but around here there aint no way.


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## Slippy (Nov 14, 2013)

Ralph Rotten said:


> You realize that even Fox news had to retract their stance on global warming (especially after it became known that the Pentagon was planning for the issue.) Rush Limbaugh, Hannity, and John Justice are not scientists. You need to expand your reading to include actual scientists.
> Global warming is fact. The only debate is how much mankind has influenced it. Last year Arizona clocked the warmest year ever recorded.


Ralph,

Putting words in my posts is not wise at all, you know that. Nowhere in my recent post on this subject and very rarely in any of my posts on this forum do I reference Fox News, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, and I don't know who John Justice is.

I base my view on man made global warming as a hoax as verified by numerous Scientific analysis and results. Its is simply not true.


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## rice paddy daddy (Jul 17, 2012)

Big Country1 said:


> No basements around here, even where im at if you dig down 4 or 5 feet your hole will fill with water. Im not sure about upstate but around here there aint no way.


I'm as "upstate" as you can be without being in Georgia.
No basements up here either. We live in a mobile home, it sits three feet off the ground. Our property is 100 feet above sea level and the water table is about 4 feet down during the drought years.


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## just mike (Jun 25, 2014)

I have lived on the Gulf Coast for over 30 years now (time flies when you are having fun) and have been thru several hurricanes and lots of tropical storms. The first hurricane I was NOT prepared , but with some luck and good neighbors we all came thru fine. Now we have multiple generators, food, fuel, air conditioning that will run off one of the generators. We keep and rotate water storage and when a storm is local I fill up 2 X 55 gallon trashcans for water to flush with. One other thing I stock is the cheap tire repair kits at Walmart, there are lots of roofing nails EVERYWHERE after the storm. It's hard to get a tire patched when the local tire store has no power.


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## Prepared One (Nov 5, 2014)

I have lived on the Gulf coast for 30 years ( Houston ) The first couple of storms were more of an inconvenience then anything. However the last one that came trhough had me with out power, ice,and alternitave cooking. I had a few candles and a few flashlights. ( some worked and some didn't ) Made up my mind right then to be prepared to sustain myself at least two weeks. Plenty of good flashlights, batteries, candles, food and water, along with propane cooking and coolers for ice. also made sure each vehicle was well prepared in case we had to leave the truck because of flooding. I am shopping generators now. As far as the crime, we had a bit with the New Orleans refugees and some home grown but that was limited to certain areas. I have since increased my firepower and ability to defend. Hurricane is the most likely scenario I planned for but have movedout concentrically for the past 2 or 3 years. I know can go at least 6 months if I am carefull as far as supplies are concerned. Now the natives? Depends on the scenario as to how I deal with them.


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## CWOLDOJAX (Sep 5, 2013)

Ralph Rotten said:


> You realize that even Fox news had to retract their stance on global warming (especially after it became known that the Pentagon was planning for the issue.) Rush Limbaugh, Hannity, and John Justice are not scientists. You need to expand your reading to include actual scientists.
> Global warming is fact. The only debate is how much mankind has influenced it. Last year Arizona clocked the warmest year ever recorded.


This is really off of the OPs topic.

The Pentagon was planning for global warming because the democrats own the Pentagon.


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## Arklatex (May 24, 2014)

I never would of thought of the post hurricane streets being littered with roofing nails. That is a great observation.


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## Diver (Nov 22, 2014)

Arklatex said:


> I never would of thought of the post hurricane streets being littered with roofing nails. That is a great observation.


Our streets were littered with large trees.


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## Arklatex (May 24, 2014)

Diver said:


> Our streets were littered with large trees.


To me the tree situation is obvious. Did you happen to notice the nails after Sandy?


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## tango (Apr 12, 2013)

You can buy a kit to convert your generator to propane, much safer to store propane than gasoline.

We have an in ground pool that holds 20, 000 gals of water that can be used for flushing and firefighting.
We are on a septic. 
The pool can be used for cooking and drinking with proper treatment. We have treatment/filter stuff.
We have not had a hurricane in years and that makes folks compleascent--- bad idea.


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## CWOLDOJAX (Sep 5, 2013)

New to my usual hurricane prep is having a swimming pool full of water for toilet flushing and laundry. I have a stocked pond, squirrels, and dozens of annoying canada geese. Roughly about 3-5 acres of trees between us and a large creek feeding the river.

I only have one tub in this house so the pool fits nicely into the prep. 
In my last house we had 5 bdrms and 4 baths. I had 2 bathrooms supplied with one of these:

AquaPodKit Emergency Water Storage


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## sparkyprep (Jul 5, 2013)

It seems like a no-brainer, but make sure you have storm shutters / plywood BEFORE a storm is headed your way. Every single storm that comes through, I laugh at the idiots waiting in six-hour lines at Home Depot, while I am stocking up at the liquor store for my hurricane party. Have non-perishable food in your house BEFORE a storm is headed for you. Those same six-hour lines are at the grocery store. Store water, have a well, have a generator, with fuel. Be ready for ten days without electricity, or help of any kind. (This includes 911, hospitals, and police. They will NOT come when you call them.)

In short, be a good prepper. Have your crap together. Don't wait until the last minute, or I will laugh at you too, while buying handle bottles of Captain Morgan.


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## Diver (Nov 22, 2014)

Arklatex said:


> To me the tree situation is obvious. Did you happen to notice the nails after Sandy?


No but I suspect they had it on the shore. The power outage extended all the way to PA and trees were toppled through about 2/3/ of the state, but the destruction of homes was more of a shore experience. I knew several people that had homes destroyed or severely damaged at the shore. The nails make perfect sense, but I am far enough inland that as long as a tree didn't hit your house you probably didn't experience much damage. I learned my lesson on the trees in 1999 during Hurricane Floyd which did drop a tree on my house.


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## Slippy (Nov 14, 2013)

sparkyprep said:


> It seems like a no-brainer, but make sure you have storm shutters / plywood BEFORE a storm is headed your way. Every single storm that comes through, I laugh at the idiots waiting in six-hour lines at Home Depot, while I am stocking up at the liquor store for my hurricane party. Have non-perishable food in your house BEFORE a storm is headed for you. Those same six-hour lines are at the grocery store. Store water, have a well, have a generator, with fuel. Be ready for ten days without electricity, or help of any kind. (This includes 911, hospitals, and police. They will NOT come when you call them.)
> 
> In short, be a good prepper. Have your crap together. Don't wait until the last minute, or I will laugh at you too, while buying handle bottles of Captain Morgan.


What Sparky said!^^^^^^


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## Piratesailor (Nov 9, 2012)

great comments and suggestions. and yes.. let's the leave the global waming for somone else that want to open that can of crap. 

so when I said my pants down with ike, I wasn't being literal!! LOL.. 

Ike turned north just before hitting us and the eye went right over me. And just a note, no, I won't move, period, end of duscussion. I live near the water and choose to. I'm borderline of the "surge zone" although I'm 23 miles inland; I'm very near galveston bay. Flooding is not and issue for me. For Ike we had a generator, natural gas to the house and propane. We were fairly comfortable and set up. We had plenty of food and water to last quite a long time. 

Now with that said, the house was intact with only the loss of some tree branches and fenceing. Gas was hard if not impossible to find in my area and although we had some quanity, it wasn't enough if it had gone on longer. The remedy was a generator converted to run on the house natural gas. The generator runs the entire house now except for the AC. The solution for that was small window units for the sleeping room. Again, water is not and issue (have a large pool) and neither is food.

But again, Ike was a cat 1 or 2. What if it had been a cat 4 or 5? One of the first comments was very correct... you first have to survive the hurricane. We have a fairly robust evacation plan should it come to that. I'm very comfortable with the plan. It's what I'd come back to where prepping come into play more actively. 

In a cat 5 I'm fairly certain I'd have roof damage. Years ago I had hurricane clips put on the roof joists so I'm "mostly" confident it wouldn't blow away but would be damaged and leaking. We have shutters/wood and are ready for that but those are not fool proof. In a cat 5 the house might be inhabitable or it might not... not sure. 

If the house is damaged we are not going to seek a shelter or any such nonesense. We don't have basements and although it sounds good, a 20' container in my back yard would not sit will with the neighbors or the HOA. Again, I'm not moving. 

So, for the situation I've described, we have plans including temporary to longer term shelter on my property in the form of a large tent. Food and water will not be an issue as some of it we will have evacuated with (multiple large trucks) and most will have survived the storm at the house. Unlike an earthquake, natural gas would most likely be flowing (not a given though) and the genset would, as needed provide electric. We have manual and gas tools to clear, clean and repair. We have tarps to cover cover the roof if needed and more gas and propane than before. drinking water and water for sanitation is good. Medical is good (Nurse) as are supplies. So we have food, shelter, medical and clothing, etc. Protection is not an issue.. trust me on that. 

Driver brought up a good point.. roof nails!!! I didn't think of something like that so I'll actually address that over the next few months. A good point as it's the little things that screw you up. Getting back to the house is another point so we will travel with the appropriate tools to clear the way as needed. 

Over 20 years in my location and in that time, one hurricane. Before that it was 1983 but you never know until you know.


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## Piratesailor (Nov 9, 2012)

sparkyprep said:


> It seems like a no-brainer, but make sure you have storm shutters / plywood BEFORE a storm is headed your way. Every single storm that comes through, I laugh at the idiots waiting in six-hour lines at Home Depot, while I am stocking up at the liquor store for my hurricane party. Have non-perishable food in your house BEFORE a storm is headed for you. Those same six-hour lines are at the grocery store. Store water, have a well, have a generator, with fuel. Be ready for ten days without electricity, or help of any kind. (This includes 911, hospitals, and police. They will NOT come when you call them.)
> 
> In short, be a good prepper. Have your crap together. Don't wait until the last minute, or I will laugh at you too, while buying handle bottles of Captain Morgan.


Exacdtly... and btw, we always keep a well supplied cabinet of Captain Morgan... but we'll add it to our evacuation supplies too. I am a pirate after all..LOL


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