Hurricane Preparedness

 Hurricane Irene:

So this is my First Hurricane that I had to prepare for and experienced personally. Here are a few things that I have learned and I would be sure to have for any Emergency.

Now I had bagged up ice from the ice maker for a week prior. I also made big ice chunks in the freezer. Knowing I would need them for after the hurricane. Due note need to make more ICE, need to have more ice made, and double bagged!

Mosquitoes are bad especially after the hurricane, so you really do need to have bug spray!

We had the rain come in under the doors into the house. we put down towels and cleaned it up. so be sure to check your weather stripping. make sure it is new, and not worn! We now live in an apartment complex, so will have to get on the maintenance people to fix that!

You can never have enough glow sticks. You will need 1 per room per night for a week or so. It is had to use the bathroom in the dark, or while trying to hold a flashlight in the bathroom.

Snack type food is something you may want to consider for people. when you lose power and the boredom starts in people will want to snack on something. We had food to snack on, but you can always use more. We planned on 3 people to be here. We ended up with 6 people total. We had to have extra people for their safety. I did not plan on 3 more mouths to feed, 3 more people to entertain, and 3 more people to find a place to sleep, shower, use the bathroom. So always plan for more people!

So by doing this for many years I have always had a plan, and a kit. I have lived through many natural disasters, and many other things, but once you have to go through something new first hand.

Well here is a basic list that Virginia is giving out to their residents and a link

Get a Kit

Having an emergency supply kit is essential to making it through a disaster safely. Make sure to have supplies on hand to last each person at least three days.

Put these essential items in your kit:

• Food, at least a three-day supply of food that does not need electricity for storage or for preparation
• Manual can opener for food (if kit contains canned food)
• Water, at least three gallons per person for drinking and sanitation
• Battery-powered/hand-crank radio with weather band and extra batteries
• Written family emergency plan [on line form]

Once you have the essentials you should add these items to your kit:

• Wrench or pliers to turn off utilities
• Flashlight and extra batteries
• First aid kit
• Whistle to signal for help
• Prescription medications and eye wear
• Dust mask, to help filter contaminated air and plastic sheeting and duct tape to shelter where you are
• Sanitation supplies: moist towelettes, toilet paper, soap and plastic garbage bags

Additional items to consider adding to an emergency supply kit:

• Items for infants and toddlers
• Items for pets
• Local maps
• Copies of important family documents, such as insurance policies, identification and bank account records in a waterproof, portable container
• Cash in small denominations or traveler's checks and change
• Emergency reference material such as a first aid book
• Sleeping bag or warm blanket for each person (consider additional bedding if you live in a cold-weather climate)
• Complete change of clothing including a long-sleeved shirt, long pants, socks and sturdy shoes (consider additional layers if you live in a cold-weather climate)
• Household chlorine bleach and medicine dropper (when diluted in water, bleach can be used to kill germs)
• Fire Extinguisher
• Matches in a waterproof container
• Feminine supplies and personal hygiene items
• Paper cups, plates and plastic knives, forks and spoons, paper towels
• Paper and pencil
• Books, games, puzzles or other activities for children 
• http://www.vaemergency.gov/readyvirginia/getakit
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