Hurricane Preparedness...

Living in the South, there is a chance of encountering hurricanes during the summer and fall months. Being a responsible husband and father (ok, nobody laugh, I'm being serious here), it falls on my shoulders to make sure my family is prepared in the event a storm hits this area.

Each spring and early summer, I go out and pick up our standard hurricane supplies. With the cost of gas, some of these are getting a little expensive. Here is a basic list:

Gasoline. During hurricane season, we make it a point to keep our vehicles at least half full. In addition to the cars, I have six 5 gallon gas cans, in addition to the 2.5 gallon can I use for my lawnmower. I don't have to tell anyone that purchasing 30 extra gallons of gas for "just in case" is not cheap, but it is cheap insurance. Gas does not keep indefinitely, so you need to use it in your car over the winter and re-fill in the spring for next hurricane season. I use our hurricane gas during deer season to offset the cost of extra trips out to the ranch to go hunting.

Drinking Water. We always have a steady supply of bottled water, but just for hurricane season, I have six 1 gallon jugs of drinking water and a couple of the 2.5 gallon containers with the handle and spigot on them. The gallon jugs come in cardboard boxes with 3 gallons per box. Keep them closed up and store in a dark place and they theoretically keep quite a while. I'll switch ours out after this year just to make sure it stays fresh. We like camping, and the 2.5 gallon containers with the spigots are perfect for taking camping.

Other use water. In addition to drinking, you also need water for other things like bathing and flushing the toilet. The night before Rita was supposed to make landfall, we took one last bath and then filled all of the bath tubs with water. We also filled Matthew's swimming pool on the back patio. In a pinch, you could also boil it and use for cooking (I don't cook with water we have bathed in...)

Batteries: Self explanatory. I buy a mega pack of D and AA batteries. Most of our flashlights are AA size, but we do have a couple of bigger ones and also a lantern that runs on D batteries. When you have kids, the bonus is that you have plenty of batteries for all of the Christmas toys.

Charcoal / Propane. I generally buy 2 big bags of charcoal and keep about 6 of the small propane canisters. If the power goes out and looks like it will be out for a while, we're having a heck of a cook-out at our house. Being hunters, we have a decent amount of meat that we would need to do something with. I know how to smoke meat and make Jerky on the charcoal grill, so we would be able to use most of it (and share with neighbors). The propane cylinders are for the camp stove if for some reason the gas service at home is not still on. I can't imagine having that problem, but I would feel stupid having a camp stove and not being able to use it if we had to.

Non Perishables. We generally have a decent amount of dried pasta, canned goods, and peanut butter type stuff hanging around. I'd say we could eat for most of a week without any major problems. We have a gas stove / oven, and a back-up camp stove, so cooking a few things shouldn't be a problem.

Paper Products. You have enough to worry about, and possibly a sparse water supply. You don't want to have to worry about washing dishes. Also, with a baby, make sure to have enough diapers and wipes, etc on hand for a few days.

Cards, games, etc, etc. No electricity means no TV and no Wi-Fi. Make sure you have something to do to pass the time.

Cash. No electricity means no ATMs and no stores will be able to take a credit card. Have enough cash to get you by until things are running normally again.

Home defense. Everyone has their own opinions and comfort levels, but there will always be people that don't prepare. Desperate times make people do desperate things. use your imagination. Share with people as you can, but be prepared to protect yourself if you need to. I make sure to keep 2 or 3 boxes of the proper type and calibers handy at all time.

I might have missed some staples, but you get the idea. Most of this stuff is stuff you would use throughout the year, just stock up at the beginning of the season and use it the rest of the year.

Getting the house ready...

We're on the far northwest side of Houston, so I'm not overly concerned about major wind damage. I don't board up the windows, but I do have wood and plastic to seal up a couple of windows if for whatever reason a window broke. That being said, it is important to pick up and loose items from outside your house. We put patio furniture in our breakfast area or in the storage building. Garbage cans go in the garage, etc. Also put a lock or piece of wire through the gate latch to keep it from blowing open. Anything that could get blown around should be secured. Before Rita, I also took all of the screens off our windows. I don't know if that was necessary, but I didn't want any of them to blow away.

Evacuate...

When Rita came this way, we had planned to evacuate before the storm took it's last minute turn to the East. Out thought was "plan to leave, but prepare to stay." Being the father of a 4 yr old and an infant, I'm not planning to be a daredevil and put my family in harms way. We're not going to ride out any major storms. We're fortunate that we have the ranch to go to north of Austin, so it's not too far away. If we stay for a minor storm and lose all services, as soon as practical, we'll probably leave town until services are restored. If a major storm, we'll leave ahead of time and be able to gather supplies (generator, etc) from outside the storm zone where they would still be available.

Future plans: I keep saying that I'm going to get a window unit A/C (can be bought for less than $150) and a generator to power the A/C and our fridge and freezer. I hope I'm not disappointed that I didn't spring for it this year, but with medical bills, a new baby, and unpaid maternity leave, I didn't want to spend the money from our savings. Maybe next year.

MOST IMPORTANT: Now that you have all of the supplies and are prepared, make sure you have the most important thing. Homeowners (or renters) insurance. Check your coverage and deductibles, and make sure you know where a copy of your policy is to you will know what to do if you need to file a claim.

I'm not an expert, so if I left anything out or have potentially led anyone astray, leave me a comment.