Hurricane Ready Now, Hurricane Party Later: Being Fully Prepared

Today is the official start of hurricane season. I’ll never be “that guy” frantically buying pop tarts and beer at the grocery store the day before landfall. As a lifelong resident of the Texas Gulf Coast (born in Galveston, actually), I had come to realize at an early age that hurricane season is just a part of our history and our culture, and I stay vigilant. My experiences with Hurricane Alicia (1983), Tropical Storm Allison (2001), Hurricane Ike (2008), and Hurricane/Tropical Storm Harvey (2017) continue to refine our family’s preparedness plan. We have a routine throughout the year from pre-season preparations to a storm entering/forming in the Gulf of Mexico to hunkering down during a storm.

It is worth mentioning that we don’t live in any areas that would be evacuated (close proximity to the coast and/or near rivers/bayous), so we don’t evacuate. It is important to keep the roads clear for those that do live in those areas and need to get out. So our preparations are exclusive to riding out the storm at home. We also don’t board our windows since we live a little inland from the coast. Even a strong category hurricane will have weakened by the time it makes landfall and heads our way. Your family’s situation may be different so adjust accordingly!

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Left: my Everyday/Emergency Car Kits (Emergency Supplies Checklist), Right: get home bag (shown) and roadside assistance kit (under bag with spare tire)

Year-Round Readiness

I stay vigilant year-round for a variety of situations in my vehicle with my Everyday/Emergency Car Kits (Emergency Supplies Checklist). I’ve made a checklist for three scenarios: roadside assistance, having to spend the night in my car, or abandoning my car completely and walking home. So when hurricane season approaches, my vehicle is already ready. Check out my car kit checklist for the full list, but some ready made kits can be purchased on Amazon:

Left: large items in under-the-bed storage boxes, Right: small items in shoe boxes on closet shelf

Left: picnic/fleece blankets and hammocks, Right: shoes and tent with bedding

Left: grab and go day pack, flamingo with pump (you never know), and sleeping bag, Right: large camping gear usually not needing during a storm

Before Hurricane Season Begins

Spring is a good time to take an inventory of camping gear and emergency supplies. There’s a lot of intimidating information online about prepping for the worst case scenario, but to be honest, no one can’t predict exactly what that worst case scenario would be. There are some nice checklists from CNN and Ready at the bottom of this post, and I would highly suggest using them as a guide for what your family’s situation may be. In our home what I’ve found useful in prior storms is to know where everything is, so that when disaster (which is the broadest of categories) strikes, I can access necessary supplies and even creature comforts to get us through. We have camping/hiking/miscellaneous gear that we’ve organized into a guest bedroom closet and under the guest bed (see picture above). Some gear is packed in bags or boxes, and other gear is on shelves for easy “grab and go” situations (which included needing to be outside during freezing temperatures before a half marathon). Things we make sure are always in our camping supplies are:

June 1st (Official First Day of Hurricane Season)

This is our reminder to go to the grocery store for non-perishable foods that should last until the winter. I don’t think it’s necessary to designate anything “don’t eat unless in an emergency” because that’s how food gets wasted. Instead, we eat as we normally do, but we keep these items stocked just in case. You’ll never see me at a grocery store when there’s a storm approaching. That’s worse than Black Friday crowds! Some of my favorite non-perishable foods are:

When a Storm Enters/Forms in the Gulf of Mexico

I don’t wait until the last minute to fill up my gas tank, I do this as soon as a storm even steps foot into the Gulf. My husband fills his tank and also buys an extra bag of dog food. We also pull out our water jugs/bottles and have them ready in the laundry room. Again, the grocery store madness is not for me. Buying cases of water is unnecessary in my opinion, and also a waste of money and space. Some of our favorite jugs are:

When the First Storm Bands Come Onshore

This is when we ready the house for what could be hours to days of onslaught. We bring in/put away all small items/furniture that could be projectile in high winds, fill water jugs/bottles/bathtub, and charge all electronics and portable chargers. And then we just wait. The sites I use to monitor the storm are:

Landfall (Hurricane Party)

As long as the power is on, I’m usually working on crafts, sewing, and/or working on the computer while monitoring the storm. Once the power goes out, we snap some glow sticks and comfort the dogs that are afraid of the noises. The food situation becomes more structured as we will eat what’s in the fridge first, grill what’s in the freezer after the storm passes, and eat non-perishables once the perishables run out. It’s that simple: what spoils first gets eaten first. And the wine…wouldn’t want that to go bad.