Start preparing for hurricane season

[Bay Ranger]

I lived on the MS Gulf Coast, Long Beach, when Katrina came ashore. We evacuated to Stennis Space Center where I worked. Eye of Katrina passed over us. Bay St. Louis, Pass Christian, Long Beach were on the NE quadrant and took heavy destruction from the storm surge and wind field. We were much worse off than New Orleans which got all the attention. We were without power for 15 days.

 

[ccc]

One more gas can to empty into the lawn equipment and side by side from last years hurricane gas, then I will go fill them all up again

 

[Welldoya]

I usually fill up a dozen 5 gallon jugs when a hurricane enters the gulf.
Don’t forget to put in stabilizer because times flies and you don’t know for sure when you might use the gas.

 

[IronBeard]

I usually fill up a dozen 5 gallon jugs when a hurricane enters the gulf.
Don’t forget to put in stabilizer because times flies and you don’t know for sure when you might use the gas.

I do the same thing starting in Spring, use Stabil. Whatever I don't use gets dumped in the vehicles in the Fall. Just filled my first two for this season...

 

[Bodhi]

I usually fill up a dozen 5 gallon jugs when a hurricane enters the gulf.
Don’t forget to put in stabilizer because times flies and you don’t know for sure when you might use the gas.

And do you top off your vehicles? Is that extra 60 gallons for your generator?

 

[Murfpcola]

I am headed out now to buy as much bread and milk as my fridge will hold!

 

[Welldoya]

And do you top off your vehicles? Is that extra 60 gallons for your generator?

Yes, always fill vehicles up. Extra gas just for the generator.

 

[chef_josh]

https://www.amazon.com/Hipat-Thicke...efix=referee+whistle+pack,aps,113&sr=8-6&th=1

I just bought another bulk pack of whistles to keep on hand after the lessons I learned during Michael. We were living over in Callaway at the time, and I even stood outside in the eye during that storm. Craziest experience of my life.

To make a very long story short, our house was not in a flood zone, and I moved my supplies upstairs just in case. At one point, every single window on the west side of the house exploded at the same time. I thought a piece of fence or something hit them at first, but it was from the house bowing, and the windows just couldn't take any more, so they all exploded at once. The window on my garage had the inside pane of glass broken, but the outside was still completely in tact.

As a result of the busted windows, my bedroom was destroyed the worst. This was upstairs, and where I had moved all my supplies. Every electronic device I owned was ruined. My medic bag had so much glass shrapnel that it was just completely unusable for anything. Even my waterproof radio was full of glass and busted against the wall. I had 6" shards of glass stuck in my wall like a knife.

Hours later, there I sat... complete and utter darkness outside, every single window in my house exposed. I slept with my rifle across my chest, but there wasn't much sleep to be had. The second night was when most of the looting started. I don't think it was as bad as most major cities, but it was definitely chaos. I heard multiple gunshots. The police killed someone about a 1/2 mile away.

I heard a commotion about 2 houses down, so I went to investigate (about 1am), and found a cop tackling a guy and cuffing his hands behind his back. When I shined my light to see, the cop who was cuffing a guy yelled, "Turn that off." To this day, I'm 100% sure that cop never did realize the light I shined him with that night was hanging on the end of a rifle.

Now I keep lots of whistles. It was dark, phones were out, and while I didn't have any extra comms for others anyway, even my own radio equipment was destroyed in the storm. At least with the whistles, I could have given them to key neighbors within the surrounding blocks. I don't recommend you carry a "rape whistle" for self-defense, but when you need your neighbors to be able to alert to danger when virtually all manner of communication is down, a bunch of whistles will do the trick.

Also, fill your bathtubs up before the storm hits. Of course you already have drinking water, but the toilets can still be flushed when the water is out by forcefully dumping a pot of water down into the bowl. I recommend you try it now using about a 3/4 gallon of water poured all at once from a pitcher or stock pot (you can't pour slowly, you have to "dump" it all at once). You can watch your toilet flush without using tank reservoire. This might not seem important, but trust me... when you have no ac, no running water, and no electricity, you'll be incredibly thankful for a method to flush your toilet. The smell gets real shitty real fast when the power and water are out.

 

[BluesBrother]

This thread is very fortuitous indeed. Ya never know what turn it may take.​

Storm system bound for Florida to gather steam over Gulf of Mexico after leaving Texas​

According to the FOX Forecast Center, the development of the system over the Gulf of Mexico will occur due to a storm system that has been spinning over the Four Corners in the Southwest over the past several days. Ya never know for sure what direction it will take.​

By Steven Yablonski Source FOX Weather

This graphic shows the flash flood threat in Florida and the Southeast on Friday, March 22, and Saturday, March 23, 2024.

 

[Viking1204]

This thread is very fortuitous indeed.​

Storm system bound for Florida to gather steam over Gulf of Mexico after leaving Texas​

According to the FOX Forecast Center, the development of the system over the Gulf of Mexico will occur due to a storm system that has been spinning over the Four Corners in the Southwest over the past several days. Ya never know for sure what direction it will take.​

By Steven YablonskiSource FOX Weather

This graphic shows the flash flood threat in Florida and the Southeast on Friday, March 22, and Saturday, March 23, 2024.

It looks like we'll luck out as the storm doesn't look like it will gain steam and strengthen until it passes us, we'll probably get some rain for the gardens!

 

[BluesBrother]

Anyone mention meds? An extra prescription could be a life saver if worst case scenario occurs. Two weeks without service is not out of the realm in a hurricane situation. They can be kept in refrigerator for longevity.

 

[FrommerStop]

Bandages and such are good to store. Lots of cuts and things during the clean up. House is concrete block with cells poured with concrete and rebar. Home made storm shutters of 3/4" permanently installed with j-bolts in concrete. Roof is steel. Put it on just before Ivan struck. the only remaining trees are on the north side and hurricane winds seldom reverse straight out of the north. But it could it happen
Only need to flush the commode for doing #2.

 

[Bodhi]

I am headed out now to buy as much bread and milk as my fridge will hold!

And ammo.

 

[pete repete]

Anyone mention meds? An extra prescription could be a life saver if worst case scenario occurs. Two weeks without service is not out of the realm in a hurricane situation. They can be kept in refrigerator for longevity.

i definitely keep a few weeks of meds. there are companies that cater to preppers who will help you stock up on antibiotics.

 

[Bodhi]

i definitely keep a few weeks of meds. there are companies that cater to preppers who will help you stock up on antibiotics.

And a quality first-aid kit. It's a critical component to any 72-96-hr hurricane kit.

 

[BluesBrother]

And ammo.

No problem there. I have more ammo than meds. LOL

 

[5lima30ret]

spare plugs and oil for generators for more than 4-5 days run time. Fuel stabilizer is worth its weight in gold. It was very hard to find for months after Hurricane Sally. Also blue tarps and furring strips unless you like waiting in line for 8 hours to get them

 

[fisheadgib]

I got stationed at Elgin in 1976 and since that time I've experienced a few storms and learned a few things. Most of the important stuff has been covered but I'll add my two cents anyway. Going without power is a biggie that many were unprepared for. Our house in Fort Walton is a block from Gulf Power (FPL) and we would lose power for three days after every major storm. Most folks now have basic 5000w generators and a spare gas can which will only get you through the first day. Under load, a 5kw generator burns about 5 gallons every 8 hours. After a storm, it can still take a while to get gas because most of our gas comes in by barge and the intracoastal gets shut down to barge traffic until it all gets surveyed. One other purchase I would recommend is a small window air conditioner. The cheap 5kw generators that most people have won't run your central ac system but it will run a small window unit. With a window AC in your biggest bedroom and the door closed, you'll be able to sleep. After hurricane Opal, the temps were in the low 90's and without power, it was that temp in peoples houses. 90f and 98% humidity in your house makes for a miserable time.

 

[BluesBrother]

I hate to loose power. However, you'd rather loose power than be without drinkable water. As mentioned earlier a gas power hot water heater is the way to go if an upgrade is in your future. Water, power, gas in that order are my biggest concerns in a SHF scenario.

 

[FLT]

I’m usually self sufficient for about 3 weeks. After that I either have to leave or will need help. It has been my experience that help shows up a couple of days after you don’t need it any more. FEMA and the red cross come around after the power has been restored. Both are as useless as tits on a boar hog in my opinion. The only help I’ve ever gotten has been from friends . I have truly been amazed by some of the younger guys and gals in our social circle.