Preparing for the storm

Looks like Hurricane Hanna is headed right in our direction. Yikes. Unless it drastically changes course (which could happen) it will probably get here tomorrow night or Saturday morning.

At this point it’s a pretty small storm. They’re not really sure if it will be a category 1 hurricane or a tropical storm. Either way, we’re not talking about massive destruction here. Whew.

But it could mean we’ll be stuck indoors for a day or two due to heavy rain and wind. It could also mean a power outage. We don’t really know what to expect, because we’ve never experienced a hurricane. That’s all the more reason to overprepare, though.

We’re headed out tonight for some provisions. Here’s what we’re picking up:

  • Batteries for the flashlight and radio
  • Ice to pack into the freezer so our meat won’t spoil if we lose power.
  • Foods that don’t require refrigeration or cooking (granola bars, applesauce, cereal, crackers, etc.)
  • A few gallon jugs of water

We may not even need this stuff if the storm is as mild as they’re expected it to be. We feel better being prepared, though, and we should really have a stockpile of water and batteries anyway.

Besides, we might need these provisions and more next week if Hurricane Ike (currently a Category 4) follows its projected path to the Carolina coasts. We’ll be more likely to evacuate than stick it out if that storm comes our way, but the snack foods might come in handy on the road. It’s too early to know for sure where Ike is headed, but my point is that we should be prepared for this storm and future storms now that hurricane season is upon us.

Unfortunately, we hadn’t planned for a mid-week grocery trip to stock up on convenience foods when we set our budget. This could throw things off for us in that department. It’s a bummer, but this is just a reminder of why it’s important to build an extra cushion into your budget. Luckily, I planned for a $400 grocery budget even though I wanted to shoot for $300-$350. So hopefully it won’t throw us off.

I’m hoping it’ll be some rain and wind and that we won’t lose power at all this weekend. I guess we’ll see! I’m just happy we’re going to be prepared.

To all of you who have experienced hurricanes: What else should we do to prepare?!

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7 thoughts on “Preparing for the storm

  1. Kacie

    Ugh, that’s annoying. I hope Hanna doesn’t cause many problems for you or anyone else, and I hope Ike takes a turn back out to sea.

    If you can’t get your hands on enough ice to stock your freezer, you could try filling empty milk or juice jugs (or any other bottles or containers you have) and sticking them in the freezer.

    Whenever we’ve lost power in the past, it’s been helpful to have a bathtub full of water, as well as other containers pre-filled with tap water for tasks such as brushing our teeth, washing our hands and flushing toilets. You can dip water out of the tub to fill the toilets, and use other sanitary containers for your teeth and stuff.

    Oh, and you can have water set aside for your doggie.

    Keep your cell phones charged!

    Good luck with it all.

  2. Vanessa

    Hanna, at the beginning of this week, was predicted to hit us head on. Thankfully it went north a bit more and were clear of the storm, we’ve only had a few sprinkles of rain.

    Make sure you have warm blankets, if your power goes out and the storm is hitting hard, it can and probably will get pretty chilly. It is also always good to have a few pairs of clean clothes on hand. Since Hanna is not going to be as strong, which is a good thing, you probably wont need this but it is always good to have extra clothes just in case. A full gas tank is a good idea too when a stronger huricane is predicted. According to our local hurricane plan website, have cash. A lot of gas stations wont accept credit or debit cards in the case of an evacuation.

    I don’t know if your state provides a hurricane preparedness site but I know this website is usually broadcasted on the news whenever a hurricane is possible in our area: http://www.coastalstorms.com/ it provides a good list of what to have on hand.

    Also get a cranked flash light! Batteries burn out fast, especially when used all the time. A cranked flash light wont. It’s big and bulky and a pain to crank it but it provides constant light with out worry for batteries.

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