Hurricane Season: What Supplies Do You Need?
If you live in an area that’s prone to experiencing hurricane watches, warnings and events, it’s important to step back at the beginning of the season and look at the current state of your disaster preparation supplies.
The best time to purchase the hurricane supplies that you need to have on hand if a hurricane heads toward your area is the beginning of the season. If you wait until a warning is issued and danger is near, you just might find that you won’t be able to get your hands on the items that you need to get you through the storm or to cope with the time immediately following it.
Pantry Supplies
Stock up on nonperishable foods that have a long shelf life and do not require cooking. Examples of pantry hurricane supplies you may want to keep on hand include:
- Baby food
- Bottled water
- Beef jerky (canned)
- Beef stew
- Chips
- Cookies
- Crackers
- Dried fruit
- Peanut butter
- Pop tarts
- Ravioli
- Salsa
- Soup (canned)
- Sports beverages (like Gatorade or PowerAde)
- Trail mix
- Tuna fish (canned)
Personal Care Supplies
Make sure that you have all of the personal supplies that you are likely to need for at least two weeks on hand.
- Bug spray
- First aid kit
- Full prescriptions
- Sunscreen
- Toiletries
Household Equipment/Supplies
Ensure that you have a sufficient quantity of the household supplies and equipment on hand that you’ll need to get you through the storm itself and the weeks immediately following it.
- Batteries
- Chainsaw (not electric)
- Coleman stove
- Emergency contact list
- Flashlights (battery and hand crank models)
- Filtered water bottles (Gottawatta brand, because it removes bacteria from water)
- Fuel (for vehicles, generator, stove, grill, chainsaw)
- Generator
- Grill (charcoal or gas that is not connected to the gas of your house)
- Ice chest(s)
- Matches
- Manual can opener
- Radio (battery operated)
- Weather Radio (battery operated)
Hurricane Supplies: Preparation Tips
It’s a good idea to freeze the majority of the bottled water that you purchase for your hurricane supply kit. It will form ready-made ice to have on hand for the time immediately following the storm when ice is so hard to come by. If you lose power, the frozen water will help keep the food in your freezer cold longer and the water itself will remain cold longer. You can also freeze food storage containers, pitches and clean milk jugs full of water to serve the same purpose.
When we are under a hurricane warning, I usually put a one pot meal in my slow cooker about eight hours before we are expected to start feeling the effects of the storm and prepare a few recipes of baked goods that don’t require refrigeration. The act of preparing these items helps me deal with the stress of the situation and ensures that we’ll have access to hot and fresh comfort food for a while after losing power.
Want to Share?
Do you have other tips to share, or suggestions for items that need to be added to the supply list? Please leave your ideas in the comments section below.
