Hurrican prep time

 OK, gang.

  I started mentioning that you need to start preparing for environmental disasters.

 The AP (quoted in the Richmond Times Dispatch) had an article on the fact that this is likely to be an active Hurricane season.  There was another article in Old Farmers Almanac about this hurricane season as well.

Riots and the like are not the only things that can happen. It is incumbent on you to be prepared for hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, etc.

 

You need some home repair equipment

You need medical equipment

You need water

You need food

You need protection from marauders.

 

Here is what I said August 1, 2019 when there was  hurricane that did little in Virginia, but REALLY messed up New York. We had a little rain, they were out of power for as much as 7 days.

 

Preparing for the inevitable, predictable, disaster is probably on the top of your thoughts.

 

Lets talk about things you can do NOW to help yourself.

1. Buy appropriate supplies.
2. Learn appropriate skills.
3. Prepare your home.

 

Lets talk briefly about each of these.

 

1. Buy appropriate supplies.

Lets start with the rule of 3s. You can live 3 minutes without air, 3 hours without shelter, 3 days without water and 3 weeks without food. How long you can live without hope is a different issue and we can discuss that another time.

 

Air- Well, living in the post pandemic world, most of you are already wearing some sort of filtering mask. In the event of a hurricane or other similar event, there will be large particulate matter in the air. A filtering mask will help keep the dust and gunk out of your lungs. If you do not already wear a mask regularly, you should at least HAVE a mask to wear in that circumstance.

 

Shelter- Your house and clothing should do fine under current circumstances, but have you thought about what would happen if something happens to your home? What if the windows break? What if the roof rips off? You need to have some materials for at least a temporary fix, even if you do not plan to have a permanent fix. 

Some of the supplies you should pick up are 1 or 2 sheets of plywood and 1 or 2 tarps. A tarp can be used for many things, including making a tent, covering a hole in the roof, covering a hole in a window, creating a litter to carry a sick or injured person, and the list can go on from there. Plywood can be used to board up a window or even fix a roof hole.

You should also prepare a “go bag” with at least 3 days of clothing in case you need to evacuate your home.

 

Water- You need water. Seriously, in the event of  a bad situation, the water will be compromised. There may a spill in the river, a algae or fungus, or just simply a power outage being unable to pump water. You should prepare now.

I recommend at least 3 gallons of water per household member, or possible member. If you have children and grandchildren, or parents or grandparents who may end up at your house, prepare like they are coming also. If you can afford it, have 5 gallons per person. Water does not really go bad.  Also a water filter. The Britta and Zero Water filter pitchers are very nice. If you can get any source of water, it will take out most of what might be harmful.

 

Food- If there is a power outage, you need to be prepared. You should have at least 3 if not 5 days of non-perishable food in your pantry. Stock up now on canned and dry goods.

I DO NOT recommend freeze dried. Yes, they exist, and the disaster community loves to push that stuff, but it is VERY high in sodium, if you have any food allergies it is toxic, and it is very high in carbs without being high in other nutrition. If you are going hiking, or something like that, it is fine, because of the high empty calorie content and high sodium for a short period of time, but if you are sedentary, not recommended.  Also, it takes a lot of water.

 

Medical supplies- you should have basic medical supplies at home. Even a first aid kit will help, but think about the things that could happen, from cuts and scrapes to burns, to big events. Have some supplies. You should have everything from bandaids and Neosporin to tourniquets and compression bandages and splints for arms and legs. A C-collar is not out of the question, but if you need that, you will need advanced medical care very quickly, and you can make a make-shift C-collar from rolled up clothing.

 

Defensive equipment- Not everyone who gets this email will already have a firearm. Just kidding, we all know you do, but now is a good time to buy a bit more ammo (hahahahaha. OK. Buy what you can, if you can get it), and a few extra magazines and spare parts.

 

2. Learn appropriate skills.

  What skills do you need?

Well, obviously, you should know some basic home repair like

1. How to shut off the water or gas to your house. Make sure you have a tool and where the shut off valve is.
2. Some limited electrical skills. How to diagnose and repair common electrical errors. Can you shut off your breakers? Do you know which breaker goes where?
3. Basic hammering, screw driving, sawing. If you need to put up a plywood patch on your roof, you will need to get the plywood up there and nail or screw it down. Similarly with windows.

Basic auto repair

1. Change a tire. No, calling AAA does not count. Can you do that yourself?
2. Diagnosis of other major parts, from fuel system to electrical system. Can you change a tail light or headlight?
3. Change the oil in your car NOW, before the season, so you don’t run into a problem.

Basic medical knowledge

1. First aid and CPR. Take a class if you don’t have them already.
2. Take a STOP THE BLEED class. They will teach you about tourniquet and compression bandage use for severe bleeding.
3. You can go on from there to everything from EMT to Wilderness First Responder.

Cooking. Yeah, I said it. Learn to cook. You bought those canned foods, now cook them.

1. Bread (unless you are gluten free.)
2. Soups and stews.
3. Beans
4. Rice
5. Etc.

  Prepare your home.

Ok, this one is a bit harder. And some of this can overlap into other areas of preparation.

Take a security tour of your home. If there was a hurricane, what security risks do you have?

Are there trees that may fall on your home?

Is there debris in your yard and neighbors yard that may impact your home?

Are there piles of bricks conveniently left in piles for protestors? Whoops, how did that sneak in there?

Look at your doors and windows. While intrusion through the roof is a serious risk from trees, you will have to really think about how to protect that. Should you reinforce the roof? Should you strap it down? Talk to a builder.

But doors and windows are a risk. Glass doors are a particular risk. Things coming at a glass door will not be stopped. Also, the frame around your door should be reinforced. There are frame reinforcement parts, but also look at the NightLock (Amazon link) or you can make a barricade for your door by anchoring a 2x4 across it. (Amazon link)

There is  8mil security film for windows, that will resist breakage from flying objects (Amazon link). This is a good option, but when you have the chance, you should upgrade your windows to hurricane windows. They are much more resistant to flying branches and yard debris (and bricks). 

 Jason