Post by debatethis on Sept 1, 2017 10:03:22 GMT -5
Ditto a lot of what other people have said here. We also have a couple camping stoves w/ fuel to heat water, some water purification tablets/bottles, a clothesline/long paracord, several large tarps, toilet paper and a bucket, a large box of baking soda, a bag of kitty litter (can help with damp/spills) and a gallon of bleach w/ thick rubber gloves and a filter mask. If our power went out, our basement flooded, or part of our roof was knocked off in a storm we could at least protect things until help could come.
Post by WanderingWinoZ on Sept 1, 2017 10:04:38 GMT -5
Not necessary to rush out right now & buy anything...but it never hurts to stock up on stuff you may use anyway.
Don't forget about medication- if you would run out in teh 10+ days after or if it comes by mail... I'm in a not hard hit part of Houston & we haven't resumed USPS, UPS, or FEDEX service yet.
Can't go wrong with lots of extra ziploc baggies, garbage bags (to store, transport, clean up).
Stuff I forgot about were things that automatically get delivered....I ran low. dog food diapers
Lots of places ran out of bread.... milk, bread, and eggs are still sold out in stores around here Grab things like tortillas- they keep a long time & are a good bread substitute / roll ups / quesdillas
Make some casseroles & put in freezer (if you ahve a gas stove/oven) to reheat later...it's just nice not to have to cook when you are in the middle of it
I've been going back and forth on what to do all day. We leave for Disney on Monday, staying through Sunday. I have travel insurance for the trip. I'm thinking we will go and if we need to leave early, that's just what we will have to do. No point in chancing it with two young ones.
i would go- just keep an eye on things, is home still in the potential path??? Maybe think about making a rental car reservation just in case you have to drive back?? I have a coworker that left last thursday & was to return to houston on monday from Disney...flights cancelled 5 times, so she's driving back now
That's a good idea about a rental car. I can always cancel it without penalty if we don't end up needing it.
Home is WI so not really an issue unless it goes inland and just causes havoc like Harvey continues to do.
Post by minionkevin on Sept 1, 2017 10:40:34 GMT -5
This storm is causing me to freak out. I live near the east coast and am not far from where Sandy really hit hard. Our power was out 2 days and really was not any sort of hardship in the grand scheme. DH and I just lost sleep monitoring the generator and rotating the appliances we plugged into it. My parents live close to the hardest hit areas and were without power for more than a week. My cousin's house less than 5 minutes from them, was out more than 2 weeks. My parents' basement flooded. People I know in my hometown lost everything. Gas was scarce. Friends had to abandon their only vehicle because it ran out of gas waiting to get gas. My basement flooded during Irene and I am heading to CA in a few days, alone. I have put DH in charge of all preparations while I am gone, since, if it comes up the coast, we will have 3? 4? days to prepare for the storm once I return. The difference between those storms and today is I have 2 kids whom I also need to prepare for - clothes, food, comfort items, toys, books - and have to put on a brave face despite my terror, should we be affected. It makes me sick to think this is what people in SETX are dealing with right now, and so much worse, since the storm projections changed so quickly.
Make some casseroles & put in freezer (if you ahve a gas stove/oven) to reheat later...it's just nice not to have to cook when you are in the middle of it
Yes, I did this before Sandy. I made things that were reheatable on the stove, like chili, since the oven required figuring out where to light it. I froze some things in containers in the days preceding that were about the same size diameter/dimension as my pots/pans so once they were slightly thawed they would slide right in for reheating. We have electric hot water and w/d though, so we were stinky and rewearing clothes for a few days. The dishes also piled up, since the dishwasher was out and hot water was also out.
I have a feeling this thing is going to be a beast (it already is). It seems like it escalated so quickly-- Tropical wave, then tropical storm, and in the blink of an eye a cat 2. Scary stuff.
My husband thinks I'm nuts, but I just have a gut feeling about it.
Does anyone have a good emergency preparedness list? This is where we are severely lacking. Guess we should be better prepared since we have a kid.
In addition to what others have said:
- Fully gas up your car(s), and consider filling one of those red plastic gas jugs. The gas station lines after Sandy were bonkers.
- Withdraw some cash in case ATMs aren't available.
- If you have an outdoor grill, get some extra propane or charcoal so that you can cook food.
- Get your dishes and laundry done before the storm comes.
- Have light sources handy - candles, matches and lighters, flashlights with fresh batteries, lanterns, headlamps (very useful for reading or chores where you need both hands free).
- I have our important docs in a small safe so that it's all in one place (it was a nightmare trying to track down all of FIL's docs after he unexpectedly died so after that I got the safe for us). I keep meaning to scan them onto a thumb drive, and also get a waterproof sealed folder for them.
Not sure how old your kid is but make sure you have diapers, wipes, formula; medication; non-perishable food they'll eat; something non-electronic to entertain them (books, board games, coloring books, toys, blocks, whatever).
Pets: food, water, medications, a crate if you need to evacuate with them
These blogs have good ideas (the AOM guy is a hardcore prepper but it's a good starting point at least):
When we went through Sandy, it really helped to have battery-powered lights for the kids' rooms. It gets SOOO dark when all the power goes out, and having light helped the kids not totally freak out.
Having a ton of candles and matches also helps. Nights without power are long.
If you end up in the storm path, you might ask ahead whether your local library or grocery store has generators and plans to stay open, and figure out how you can get to those places if your car route become impassible. During Sandy, all the cell phone towers went down and our electricity was out for 5 days (and we are an hour off the coast where the damage wasn't too bad). Only the library and Wegmans had Wifi - the whole town crammed into those two places. That was how I finally got in touch with the outside world in order to find a place to evacuate.
Also, if you have stored breast milk in the freezer, figure out who has a generator and can keep it safe for you. I didn't have a lot stored up but I lost all mine.
Ugh. I hope it stays out in the sea. I will check with my parents tonight. We are headed to the beach house tomorrow on the MA coast. We may spend Sun/Mon preparing the house just in case. We just had the chimney rebuilt. Last week.
I've been going back and forth on what to do all day. We leave for Disney on Monday, staying through Sunday. I have travel insurance for the trip. I'm thinking we will go and if we need to leave early, that's just what we will have to do. No point in chancing it with two young ones.
We rode out three hurricanes in Disney. The first, in 2004, closed down the parks. When they reopened though, they were for on-property guests only, and they were empty. No lines.
Same for second two, but the parks were closed for shorter amounts of time.
Disney is well equipped to handle storms, outages etc. People from coastal Fl areas came to Disney because it was safer than their homes near the coast.
Disney had entertainment at the resorts for the kids when the parks closed.
Hopefully Irma stays at sea, and you won't need to deal with it.
I should add that we knew the storms were coming each of the three times we were there in hurricanes.
The meteorologists releasing "potential landfall" maps this far in advance of Irma are irresponsible. It's WAY too early to predict those things and the models will change every few hours at this point.
I'm in NYC, and all of the weather folks are saying it could hit, but there's really no need to panic. If there's something to worry about, we won't know for a while so KOKO.
People here in coastal VA are starting to prep. Even if it stays out to sea, we'll get outer bands, and if it cuts through the SE then we'll get the remnants.
It struck me while I was standing in line that there's very little difference in the shopping list between disaster prep and a serial killer. I may be on a watch list now.
I'm trying so hard not to freak out about Irma. I can't even think about it enough to actually prepare without getting close to an anxiety attack.
I'm in central VA. Several models have it affecting our area. My due date is Tuesday, but there have been no signs of labor. I've been scheduled for an induction on the 10th, right around when it's projected to hit the east coast (if it does). I'm about 25 minutes from the hospital where I'm delivering. There are so many variables. Ugh. I'm an anxious wreck.
Ugh after Harvey this is so scary. My parents and SIL are in FL and I don't think they've really prepared for a big storm. We're supposed to fly down Friday to visit. At least we should know whether or not we should cancel our trip, but we didn't buy insurance so that will suck. Funny, we went the same week last year and were hit by another tropical storm. It wasn't too bad but it kind of ruined our trip. Guess that's why flights are always cheap in Sept.
Whether Irma ultimately strikes the U.S. at all will depend on the strength and expansiveness of the Bermuda-Azores high over the Atlantic Ocean, and the timing, depth and location of a southward dip in the jet stream near the eastern U.S.
Enlarge A southward dip in the jet stream will be in place across the eastern states by late this week as high pressure dominates the western Atlantic. The alleyway between those large-scale weather systems could steer Irma towards the U.S. East Coast or out to sea. The range of solutions spans from a track offshore of the U.S. East Coast to a direct strike or landfall.
If Irma would strike the U.S., and again, that is not by any means a certainty, that could happen as soon as next weekend, or possibly early the second week of September.
For now, all residents along the East Coast should monitor the progress of Irma.
As UCAR scientist and FEMA task force lead Michael Lowry notes, storms that become hurricanes near the Cabo Verde Islands often don't make a U.S. landfall, but when they do, they can be noteworthy.
I'm trying so hard not to freak out about Irma. I can't even think about it enough to actually prepare without getting close to an anxiety attack.
I'm in central VA. Several models have it affecting our area. My due date is Tuesday, but there have been no signs of labor. I've been scheduled for an induction on the 10th, right around when it's projected to hit the east coast (if it does). I'm about 25 minutes from the hospital where I'm delivering. There are so many variables. Ugh. I'm an anxious wreck.
((hugs)) Best wishes for an easy and safe delivery.
Last Edit: Sept 3, 2017 9:29:06 GMT -5 by bugandbibs
share.memebox.com/x/uKhKaZmemebox referal code for 20% off! DD1 "J" born 3/2003 DD2 "G" born 4/2011 DS is here! "H" born 2/2014 m/c#3 1-13-13 @ 9 weeks m/c#2 11-11-12 @ 5w2d I am an extended breastfeeding, cloth diapering, baby wearing, pro marriage equality, birth control lovin', Catholic mama.
Here's an emergency preparedness tip. Very powerful back up phone charger.
I bought this one for a long flight to use my iPad but after hearing many people in Houston used social media to alert rescuers to their whereabouts, I'm now thinking it's a good thing to have on hand, fully charged at all times. It can keep two iPhones charged for a week.
Here's an emergency preparedness tip. Very powerful back up phone charger.
I bought this one for a long flight to use my iPad but after hearing many people in Houston used social media to alert rescuers to their whereabouts, I'm now thinking it's a good thing to have on hand, fully charged at all times. It can keep two iPhones charged for a week.
Pretty sure this is what H bought recently when I was going out of town and taking our other back up charger (which we call the "brick"). These things are great, but make sure you allow plenty of time for charging. We bought something like this for our inlaws for xmas last year too, and they've used them while traveling.
I'm trying so hard not to freak out about Irma. I can't even think about it enough to actually prepare without getting close to an anxiety attack.
I'm in central VA. Several models have it affecting our area. My due date is Tuesday, but there have been no signs of labor. I've been scheduled for an induction on the 10th, right around when it's projected to hit the east coast (if it does). I'm about 25 minutes from the hospital where I'm delivering. There are so many variables. Ugh. I'm an anxious wreck.
We have two 4WD vehicles and a whole-house generator.
I'm trying so hard not to freak out about Irma. I can't even think about it enough to actually prepare without getting close to an anxiety attack.
I'm in central VA. Several models have it affecting our area. My due date is Tuesday, but there have been no signs of labor. I've been scheduled for an induction on the 10th, right around when it's projected to hit the east coast (if it does). I'm about 25 minutes from the hospital where I'm delivering. There are so many variables. Ugh. I'm an anxious wreck.
We have two 4WD vehicles and a whole-house generator.
Signed,
Not-creepy-at-all internet stranger/neighbor
This is actually comforting. We don't know anyone with a generator. Thankfully our neighborhood has in-ground electrical lines, so we rarely lose power. When we do though, it's because something took out a substation or something.
Ugh. At least if I'm already at the hospital to be induced, I don't have to worry about them losing power. Bright side? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Ugh. My parents' place is right at the NC/SC border. I just talked to my mom, who doesn't believe in weather reports, and she said she'd get out of town on the 10th.
Shit, it upgraded to a 5? I pray it doesn't any islands in the Caribbean. I am on the Jersey coast now and should probably be following it. This is not what anyone needs right now.
Post by lolobeth802 on Sept 3, 2017 13:01:59 GMT -5
I just booked our pet- friendly evacuation hotel (ugh), since we don't have friends/family for over 500 miles. People seem to be worrying a bit prematurely here, but Hugo was a Cape Verde hurricane, so I understand. Last year's evacuation ended up costing quite a lot because we were unprepared. I understand why people don't/can't leave their homes.
As I said with Harvey, contact me with specific needs. H will likely be repositioned for Irma.
I have family/ friends in Bahamas, Florida, so I may be focused on them. They'll give me on the ground info which will help everyone. (Like you all did with Harvey. I haven't responded to everyone who provided to let you know the difference that made)
But we're still too far out. We'd not be putting on shutters yet nor rolling rugs and pulling in outside furniture. We'd be stocking up on water and batteries.
Those in fl, just go inland away from storm surge. Go to a hotel (if you can afford) that has survived others. If you're not in immediate danger shelter in place is safer than on the road (personal, professional advice.)
Most precious lost are pictures (now physical plus hard drives and cds). Bins, then garbage bags, then more bags. Not in the attic as roof can fly. As high as possible internally. If you don't have 2nd floor and are in high flood zone, take that bin with you.