This is only a drill! – 16 ideas for better prep for the next hurricane
Irene is just a memory here in Rhode Island. Years from now, the most vivid part of the memory will be of our catastrophic power loss. Some of us were lucky and only lost power for a little over a day. More of us were without power for a week. Some without power or well water for all of that time – yuck!
I live in a flood zone area designated mandatory evacuation. So I did. I also did all the basics: stow the lawn furniture, take down the window screens, check the basement for anything loose that could float in and block the sump pump, stock up a bit on water, non-perishables and batteries, fill the car with gas, and find higher ground to store the car.
But if the big one really did hit us, there are many things I could have done better. I wrote a list the day the power came back and I’ve been asking around, “what would you have done differently?” We get plenty of notice for these storms and at least one close call per year. So why not be ready? Here’s some of what I’ve gathered that you do not get from the advice on the news:
1. If you live somewhere where you might need to evacuate, pack a bag with important stuff. Have the cat carrier ready. If you’re going to someone’s house, bring your own flashlights, batteries, etc. so you don’t compromise their preparations.
2. Sign up for your city’s version of the red alert system so they’ll email, text or call you directly with evacuation orders, etc. Do this and go online and look at flood zones and evacuations routes days before the storm. When the storm arrives, so many people will be trying to get this info that the servers could crash.
3. Go get some cash. No power will mean no ATMs or banks.
4. Do all the laundry. Wash it and dry it and pack some in your grab bag. And a reminder from Karen Camp, who was without power and water for nearly a week,” iron your work clothes after you do the laundry.”
5. Figure out alternate ways to charge the cell phone and have all the right cords handy.
6. Start now and complain to your cell phone carrier loudly and often if you had no service while the power was out. T-Mobile was out while there was no power. Unacceptable!
7. So many people’s first answer was “coffee!” Find an alternate way to make coffee. If you don’t have a gas stove to boil water, maybe you want to get a one-burner camping stove with a little gas bottle. But as Liz Marchi reminded me, “you still need instant coffee or a percolator or other old fashioned method to use on your gas stove.”
8. Know how to disconnect your electric garage door opener, so you can manually open the door.
9. I realized that I no longer own a radio. Just a plain old radio that runs on batteries so one can listen to newscasts. I’m going to get an emergency radio that has the built-in flashlight and cell phone chargers that can be used with batteries, crank power or solar power.
10. Get better emergency lighting. I have the cheapest flashlights and they just don’t feel reliable. Candles are OK, but there were fires all over the state from candles. If you do use a candle, put it in front of a mirror to light the room. I’m going to get a camping lantern that is said to work for 75 hours on 2 D-batteries.
11. Figure out back up power for the sump pump. Systems are available with car batteries and chargers that charge continuously. Less expensive than a new furnace (see item #16).
12. Pack the freezer with ice cubes and homemade block ice. I’m going to fill large plastic containers with water and freeze them for use in the Igloo when the fridge becomes useless, which it turns out is not much longer than 24 hours.
13. Write down your most important phone numbers. If your phone battery completely dies, will you know anyone’s phone numbers?
14. Vacuum the house. Why not go in to a pending natural disaster with a clean house? It won’t save your life, but if you’re stuck at home for days, you’ll be glad you did.
15. Buy a rubber stopper for your bath tub. If you do decide to fill your tub, will it hold water for days? Mine won’t.
16. Reread your homeowners’ insurance policy. Holy cow! My deductible for tropical storm related damage is $12,000!
And as I review this, I realize that this is all for warm weather disasters and outages. What would we do if we were without electricity for days during a blizzard?
This started as a list of 10 ideas, but the ideas keep coming. What would you do differently?
Labels: Annie Becker, City of Newport, hurricane irene, hurricane preparation, Rhode Island, storm
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