Hurricane Planning

This is only my third year of living in a hurricane zone (we moved here the weekend of Hurricane Rita) and the first year of having young children. Well, last year they were infants and didn't require much other than breast milk.

Right now, I'm going through the hurricane preparedness list, and making my own list of things to stock up on. I'm going to stock up on the usual things -- water, batteries, non-perishable food, make sure the car has a full tank all summer long, things like that -- but I was wondering for those of you in my shoes, if you do anything special.

Thanks in advance.

Sotto

 

Lived in Hurricane zone all my life. With little kids you want extra diapers and lots of baby wipes becaue you do not know if the water will be clean. I try to always have 1/2 a box of wipes from Sams on hand. I keep a lot more snacks on hand too...mostly dry cereal, fruit snacks, and such are in my emergency supplies. My kids are picky eaters. I store food that they will eat.

Cindy

 

So glad you posted this...I live in a hurricane zone also (grew up in it) and i have been thinking about what to keep ready in case we have bolt. I keep their baby books in my hurricane bin as well as some of their photo albums. I just leave them in there until November. Last year, I filled up several (like 10) gallon jugs of water and left them in the garage in case we came back to no running water. Other than diapers, wipes and non perishable food, I guess that would be it. Oh, also ask your ped for an extra Rx for anything they might need to take regularly just to have on hand. I really hope it's a quiet season.

 

everyone's pp are very good suggestions that I'll put on my list as well, but I was thinking....you might need to stock up on more mosquito spray than normal. With the power being off, it'll proabably be hot and with the door/windows open the mosquitos might be an issue. I know they are here. Good thread, we've been working on our typhoon locker as well.

 

We live not more than 100 feet from the edge of the Gulf of Mexico. Being prepared for a hurricane is a way of life around here. I've gone through hurricanes from the time the girls were infants until they were grown. One suggestion I have is if you have a separate freezer - during hurricane season freeze large containers of ice and keep your freezer completely full. The larger containers such as gallon milk jugs - stay frozen longer and keep everything in your freezer from perishing during long power outages. We also have a generator but with the price of gas it's costly to run even the generator. If you are lucky enough to have one - make sure you have several 5 gallons gas containers filled and ready to go. During a hurricane gas gets rationed and you can only get it from stations once the power is restored. We also keep a small room sized air conditioner on hand - easily purchased from Walmart for not much more than $100.00 - when the power is out for extended periods - if you have a generator you can run the room AC for a while to keep the babies cool. If you live in a hurricane zone you also live in a heat zone and that heat can zap you. Make sure you have lots of cans of the fruit cups, etc. for baby - those are nutritional as well as refreshing. If they have any regular medications - make sure you have an extra perscription. Put together a first aid kit, a snack kit, flash lights, portable radios, extra clothes for the kiddies, etc. - things you can toss in the trunk at a moments notice and if you have to evacuate - do not wait until the last minute. Routes out of the zone can become clogged and you can literally sit for hours idling - run out of gas or get caught and unable to get out. Never go due north from the hurricane if you are on the southern coast or due west on the eastern - those routes clog - go at an angle and you are more likely to get out without being in a jam. We're in a mandatory evacuation area so we have no choice. Depending on how far you are from the coast and whether you are in a flood prone area determines need for evacuation. If you do evacuate, make sure you have your c hild's name, address, phone number and your name, etc. and the address and phone number of a close relative securely tucked inside your child's clothes.

Preparedness is what keeps you safe and your family together. You're very smart to thing ahead and not be out with the crowded rush while everyone tries to get ready at the last minute. Good luck and hope no storms head your way.

 

You have gotten some great advice already.

We went through Hurricane Charley, in 2004, and at the time I just had the 3 kids, but Josh was only about 5 months old. We were out of power for over a week, and it was SO hot and miserable. The storm itself was one of the scariest things I have ever experienced, as 7 of us spent about 3 hours in my parent's closet, wondering if the garage door was going to hold, and the huge oak trees in their yard were going to hold up to the wind and rain, and not end up in our laps. We actually had to evacuate more than once that year, after that, due to other storms. Gas was scarce, even in advance of the storm, because everyone had filled up, and after because there was so much damage and no power.

I always stock up on batteries, water, and non-perishables this time of year. Also, I have a folder in case we need to evacuate, that has insurance policy info, pictures of the house/belongings on a cd, important phone #'s, papers, etc. Cash is also important to have on hand.

Let's hope everyone has a quiet, uneventful hurricane season! :hug99:

 

QUOTE(sottovoce @ Jun 14 2008, 09:22 PM) [snapback]827282[/snapback]
This is only my third year of living in a hurricane zone (we moved here the weekend of Hurricane Rita) and the first year of having young children. Well, last year they were infants and didn't require much other than breast milk.

Right now, I'm going through the hurricane preparedness list, and making my own list of things to stock up on. I'm going to stock up on the usual things -- water, batteries, non-perishable food, make sure the car has a full tank all summer long, things like that -- but I was wondering for those of you in my shoes, if you do anything special.

Thanks in advance.

Sotto

Thank you all for your suggestions. I'm going to freeze water and buy mosquito spray! I'm hoping for a quiet storm season for us all.

Thanks again.

Sotto

 

Sotto- I'm just north of you in Palm Beach county...In '04 we dealt with direct hits from Frances and Jean, Micah was about the same age as your twins. The things I would add to the above would be to be VERY careful with the bug spray, it's hard to get off if you don't have running water and you don't want the babies to get it in their eyes or mouths. We had a spray bottle that I put water in and misted him with it fairly regularly (we were w/o power for a little while- days, not weeks like some.) As for gas, Charley Crist and the legislature have made sure that there will be stations with generators so, as long as they can get gas, you should be able to pump it.

Be sure you have plenty of water, non-perishables & canned goods, diapers and wipes, fill the tub if a storm is coming (might need it to flush the toilets ) follow what the tv stations are reporting, put up shutters when the time comes and have a plan IN ADVANCE on the criteria for you to evacuate.

We are in a new CBS house that has shutters (we moved in the weekend of Wilma) and have experienced how strong it is...we decided that there are very few scenerios that would have us leave.