#1. Your life is NOT worth any of the stuff you own.
IF you are alive you can buy more stuff. Now does this mean run a thousand miles inland for a Cat 1 storm. No, I would not, but when the storm comes YOU need to be in a safe secure place. Where that place is …is up to you to decide.
#2. Prepare Early
That means start early. Then plan your work and work your plan.
Who is going where with what?
Personally, I could care less about the sofa or the “Good†china (Hell, I don’t even think I have ever eaten on the good china). What I care about are the pictures, The small things in life that make a house a “Homeâ€Â. Right now PLAN PLAN PLAN…..Who is going where with what is the question you should be asking yourself.
#3 The things WE need
-Medicine
-1 Weeks worth
-Water
-Jugs (Drinking) 1 gallon per person per day
-Buckets (For Flushing the potty) 2 buckets for 3 people per day
-Bath Tubs (For the long haul)
-Food
-3 square for 3 days per person
(It generally take a couple days for emergency services to come online.)
-Cloths
-1 set to ride in,2 sets to clean in.
Don’t forget a decent set of work gloves and rubber boots (Sneads Ferry Sneakers)…trust me you’ll thank me for the reminder.
-Communication
-Now a days, a Cell Phone. BUT don’t jabber just to jabber. Call your folks let them know you are OK…..then stay off of it. The cell towers get worked pretty hard after a big storm.
#4 Transportation
-IF you plan to go
-Don’t wait till the last minute before you leave IF you plan to evacuate.
During Hurricane Floyd my dear wife enjoyed a 11 hour ride to the middle of the state. She waited TOO late. Leave early.
-IF you plan to stay
-Put your vehicle on high ground. Park it tight against a building IF possible. Hurricanes blow mainly from the North and East. The worst part is from the North. Point the vehicle in that direction or park on the South side of the building.
-You generally can not drive around much after a storm anyway. So put it somewhere safe and plan to move by foot.
-Fill it with fuel (The stations will have no power to pump fuel)
#5 Boats
-IF it is on a trailer
-Put it inside.
-Take to somewhere else
Believe it or not this should be one of the first things that you do. WHY? Because you need to do this one early IF you plan on taking it someplace else. Do this while you are in the planning stage. You can always go retrieve it if it does not come.
-IF Outdoors near the coast
-Tie it to the trailer
-Let the air out of the tires
-Remove anything that creates “Windageâ€Â
-Remove all electronics
-Remove all fishing gear
-Fill it with water.
-If you don’t fill it…pull the plug
-Make sure the batteries are fully charged
-Try to get in on the South side of a building
-If in a flooding area remove the engine
-Anchor it down with the anchors
(Sunk sux, but sunk and beat up is even worst)
-IF in the water
-Remove it. Put it on the hill (Good Luck)
-Remove anything that creates “Windageâ€Â
-Curtains, Tops, Outriggers,
-Remove all electronics
-Remove all fishing gear
-Charge the batteries
-IF they are weak REPLACE THEM!
-Double check the pumps
Here is the deal. Yes the wind screws up some boats. But I would bet MORE boats are lost to dead batteries and pumps that don’t work than all the wind and sea sinking in a storm. MAKE sure the batteries are topped off. Remember the power will be out for a while, a week or more in some cases and it will be raining A LOT!
-Tie it down.
-Pick a slip with really really tall poles that faces North. (Real tall poles to keep it IN the slip and faceing north so the wind and sea will be on the bow.)
-Double lines all the way around
-Make chaffing gear for any spots that rub
-Check all cleats on both the boat and the dock (Pole)
-Don’t skip the chaffing gear. Old water hose works good, just split it down the middle.
-Check the boats around you.
-When one goes it starts a domino effect
-Any empty slips on your dock should have ropes tying them in the shape of an X. This is to keep that slip from being the weak link.
-Make the boat as watertight as possible.
-Make the free board as HIGH as possible
#6 Other Goodies
-IF You flood…
-Could your Electric meter go underwater?
-If so draw a map of the breakers
-Cut the power off
-Remove all the breakers
-Place breakers with map in a safe place
-Leave nothing outside
-Even IF it is not destroyed it could destroy something else
-Open the window and doors in the area that will flood.
-This lets the water move through the building
-Be sure to tie the doors open and securely
-Look toward the direction that the water will be coming.
-See anything loose?
-Encourage your neighbor to remove his “Stuff†too
-Secure it yourself
-DO NOT DRIVE ACROSS FLOODED ROADS!
-Just don’t do it!
-Wind Only
-Board or cover the North and East facing windows
-IF you HAVE to nail use double headed nails
(easier to pull out later)
-Tie trees to each other
-Stay away from the North and East Sides of the house.
-Stay in a hallway or bathroom with NO windows.
Well That is all I can think of at the moment. I will add a few more as I think of them.
Good Luck
Captain Dave
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