When hurricane season strikes, the importance of being prepared cannot be overestimated. To protect yourself, your loved ones, and your home, you need to take the correct steps. With that being said, below, we are going to take a look at hurricane preparedness in full, revealing all of the steps that you should take.
Building an emergency hurricane preparedness kit
After there has been an emergency, you are going to need to survive on your own for a number of days. Being prepared means you are going to need to have your own water, food, and other supplies that will last you for a number of days. A disaster supplies kit involves putting together some basic items your household is going to require should an emergency happen.
But, what sort of items do you need to put inside your hurricane preparedness kit?
- Cell phone with a backup battery and chargers
- Local maps
- Manual can opener for your food
- Pliers or wrench to turn the utilities off
- Plastic ties, garbage bags, and moist towelettes for personal sanitation
- Duct tape and plastic sheeting to hold the shelter in place
- A dust mask so you can filter contaminated air
- Emergency supplies to help you stay comfortable while you are sleeping, such as an emergency blanket
- Whistle to help you signal for assistance
- Extra batteries
- Pack a few different sources of light, for example, one or more LED flashlights, one or more LED lanterns, and military-grade, premium quality light sticks.
- First aid kit
- Flashlight
- Hand crank radio or battery-powered radio and an NOAA weather radio that has a tone alert
- A well-built knife; there are a lot of different uses for this
- At least three days worth of non-perishable food
- One gallon of water per person per day, lasting for at least several days, for both sanitation and drinking
We recommend that your kit items are assembled in an airtight plastic bag. All of your disaster supplies kits should be placed within containers that are easy to carry, for example, a duffle bag or a plastic bin.
What do you need to do to prepare if there is going to be a hurricane?
There are multiple different steps you should take to prepare your property if a hurricane is anticipated. This includes all of the following:
- As standard homeowners insurance does not cover flooding, it is critical to have protection from the floods that come with hurricanes and other types of natural conditions that can impact people across the United States.
- If the authorities advise you to do so, you should evacuate the area. Make sure you are cautious in terms of avoiding washed out bridges and flooded roads.
- Learn about the response plan to hurricanes in your community. Plan routes to local shelters, as well as registering family members with special medical needs as is needed. You also need to make sure that there are plans for your pets to be cared for should a hurricane strike.
- You also need to make sure that you speak with all of the members within your household and put together a plan for evacuation. It is highly recommended that you plan carefully and practice the evacuation plan, as this is going to lower the fear and confusion throughout the event.
- Make sure you fill your vehicle with all of the gas you need.
- Propane tanks should be turned off and you need to unplug small appliances.
- Close doors, windows, and hurricane shutters. If you do not currently have hurricane shutters at your home, it is advisable to use plywood so you can board all of your doors and windows. You need to close them first, of course.
- Bring in anything that the wind could pick up, from lawn furniture to bicycles.
- Make sure you check all of the disaster supplies you have. If needed, restock and replace them.
- Listen for critical information from the National Weather Service (NWS) on the NOAA Weather Radio.
Final words on building an emergency hurricane preparedness kit
So there you have it: the ultimate hurricane preparedness checklist. We hope that this has helped you to get a better understanding of the steps you should take to make sure that your loved ones and your properties are protected.
