Staying Prepared During Hurricane Season

Staying Prepared During Hurricane Season

Heal Thy Self Guest Poster

Fingers crossed, this hurricane season will remain as quiet as it’s been so far. But with August and September the most active hurricane months, according to The Weather Channel, now is a good time to make sure you’re prepared for anything that might come our way.

If you’ve grown up in south Louisiana, chances are you know these preparation steps by heart, but it’s never a bad idea to remind yourself what you may need in case disaster strikes.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Hurricane Center have created checklists to get you prepared for nature’s worst. Take a couple of minutes and look over the list to make sure you’re ready. It’ll only take a few minutes, but it can be a life saver just in case.

Food and Medicine

  • Clean containers for water
  • At least 5 gallons of water per person (which should be enough to last 3 to 5 days)
  • A 3 to 5 day supply of food that doesn’t go bad (like canned food)
  • Baby food or formula
  • Prescription medicines
  • First aid kit and instructions
  • Fire extinguisher
  • Battery-powered radio
  • Flashlights
  • Extra batteries
  • Sleeping bags or extra blankets
  • Supplies to make drinking water safe (like iodine tablets or chlorine bleach)
  • Hand sanitizer
  • Wet cleaning cloths (like baby wipes) in case you don’t have clean water
  • Soap
  • Toothpaste
  • Tampons and pads
  • Diapers

Safety Items

Personal Care Products

Make sure your supplies are stored together in a place that’s easy to reach.

Make an Emergency Car Kit

In case you need to leave quickly during a hurricane, always keep an emergency kit in your car, too. Make sure you include:

  • Food that doesn’t go bad (like canned food)
  • Flares
  • Jumper cables (sometimes called booster cables)
  • Maps
  • Tools, like a roadside emergency kit
  • A first aid kit and instructions
  • A fire extinguisher
  • Sleeping bags
  • Flashlight and extra batteries

Having a GPS — either in your car or on your smartphone — can help during an emergency too. It’s also a good idea to get a solar-powered phone charger in case the power goes out near you and you need to access your phone. Here’s one, but a quick Google search shows that many solar phone chargers are out there.