STORM SURVIVAL- Best personal tips...

[Toni - 574]

I thought that it would be very helpful and useful to share with each other some personal tips for storm survival.
The majority of us have more than likely experienced some type of weather emergency, such as no electricity, no drinking water,property damage and flooding, and the list goes on and on...

We should all have the standard hurricane supply list of what to do and what to stock up on for the season, but I am so thankful that I added a battery operated small TV to my list. I have had to use that TV at least 3 times and it was a life saver to my family. The type that I am talking about only cost about $20.00 and believe me it paid for it's self the first time I had to turn it on.

Toni

[isobar]

Great idea Toni! Wow, I would have thought they cost more than $20. You sure you're not missing a zero?

[Steve]

Beer
Ice
Cigarettes

Steve

[Toni - 574]

Great idea Toni! Wow, I would have thought they cost more than $20. You sure you're not missing a zero?

No missing zero's. I found the little TV at my local Winn Dixie store.It's a 5 inch black and white with a AM-FM radio. It can be plugged into a regular outlet ( look closely if you do buy one, some will only plug into your car's cigarette plug in. and as I said before it runs off of batteries as well. The case looks like the shell of the clear colored iMacs. Great value at $20.00

Toni

[vbhoutex]

I actually have 2 small battery powered tv's. I had bought one and one was given as a gift for Christmas. One has even survived a flood in my Hurricane preparedness kit when one of my water bottles leaked!!! The reason I got the tv(s) us that as soon as we lost power during Hurricane Alicia we had no way of knowing what was going on since most of the radio stations were off the air and we didn't have a weather radio at that time. I've seen all of what you mentioned during my 48 years on the Gulf Coast. I may post to some it later, but I do highly recommend a battery powered tv(or 2 )since we are a media driven society that relies heavily on TV for getting and diseminating our weather information.

[Toni - 574]

Good deal David, I also have 2 sm. TV's. One for the kids and one for the adults. I purchased a TV for my daughter and husband just this past christmas as a gift.

It would be great if you would share with everyone your past weather experiences,even if we don't see much of a La Nina this season we may still have a fairly active season. The tropics are starting to get active, better stock up on more tv batteries.

Toni

[GulfBreezer]

Great topic Toni! One thing I will say is very important when facing a weather emergency of any kind is to STAY INFORMED!! Tune in to local stations and pay attention. We all know that storms direction can change on a dime not to mention intensity. Was it Erin or Opal that when we went to bed that night, she was a strong CAT 1 and when we were woken up by fire trucks going down our street at 4 am she had reached a CAT 5 status, still in open water. Those 2 storms were part of a really bad year here in the FL PH, 1995 and information provided by professionals probably saved a few lives that year.

[GalvestonDuck]

Best tip I can offer (aside from alot of the obvious): Have insurance and then take the irreplacable stuff with you. Even though it is expensive for homeowners, you definitely should have it. As an apartment dweller, I have insurance to cover the contents. So if a storm hits, I can take family photos and other family stuff, clothes to wear for a few days, hurricane kit, etc. But I'm not gonna worry about the VCR, TV, furniture, dishes, and other stuff that can be replaced. I'll grab my hard drive, but not monitor and keyboard and other peripherals. Those can be replaced, but the stuff saved on the memory can't be. And then get the heck out.

I'll take a battery operated radio with me and then watch the Weather Channel while I'm up in Fort Worth.

~Duck

[wxman57]

For you apartment-dwellers, make <b>sure</b> that you get <b>full replacement coverage</b> for your apartment contents, or you may find that you get very little from your insurance company should the worst happen.

My pet peeve - tape on windows. <b>Don't do it!</b> Tape on windows will only assure that the glass pieces that fly across your house will be larger and more dangerous when hit by debris. Plus, if you leave tape on windows more than about an hour in the sunshine then you'll never get it off. I remember back in Hurricane Allen in '80 that those who taped their windows were a bit lazy in removing the tape. Well, if you remember anything about the summer of '80 then you remember the record scorching heat wave. Well, I remember seeing those Xs on windows more than a year after Allen. The tape became part of the windows. Bottom line - boards or shutters go on windows, not tape.

Actually, I have another pet peeve. It's those people that rush to the store and buy up every gallon of water in sight at the slightest hint of a storm. Personally, I'd never buy bottled water. You can go to Academy (or any sporting goods store) and purchase a 5-gallon plastic container that folds flat for easy storage in your closet. When a storm threatens, just fill it up with a short piece of hose connected to an indoor faucet. This way, you can wait until the last minute for securing your water and you don't have to fight the lines at the stores. If you're without power and water for days or weeks after a storm, you really won't care if the water in the 5-gal containers is Perrier or tap water. When the storm misses, just lug the containers outside and water your garden. You're only out a buck or so.

[Toni - 574]

Thank you guys, you have brought up a lot of excellent ideas. I really like your thoughts on the tape and glass WXMAN. I always thought of the tape as helping in just the reverse of what you said, by keeping the small pieces together, but if there is going to be any type of glass flying around I would rather have small pieces than large chunks flying at me.

Another thought... During Elena I cooked up what I had in the freezer, let it cool and then refroze the food. (If time allows)
Also, when the busy part if the season begins I will usually cook rice, and some type of pasta and freeze it. This can be used as a base for most canned stuff, plus it helps to reduce your cooking time on the grill

Toni

[vbhoutex]

Funny thing is that one of my earliest memories during a Hurricane is of trash cans flying down the street during Hurricane Flossy in the late '50's. Floosy was only CAT1 and did little damage but I do remember the flying trash cans!! So, it is really important to make sure you get all loose items inside something so they don't blow around and damage property.

I love the idea about water, especially after my Hurricane kit flood last year!!! Academy here I come!!!

Even though I do not have one, I think it is a good idea to have a generator for electrical needs such as running a freezer or such during a storm emergency or afterwards. We ran a lllllooooonnnnnggggg extension cord across the street from our neighbors house after Alicia till we could get all the meat on the cooker from the freezer. We were without power for 7 days after Alicia. Finally moved to the P-in-laws till we got power back since we had an 8 month old and a 4 year old at that time.