[tomfl]

Yeah, been there done that. 3 hurricanes in 2 years, 2 of them the eyes went right over our house 3 weeks apart. And yes, it is dead still in the eye of a hurricane!

For those of you that haven't been through one, the biggest thing you'll face can be the "after" effects; no power at the gas stations, supermarkets, stoplights, etc. No power means no barcode readers, no cash registers! No shopping! No traffic laws! Chaos!!

Once the stores come back online, there will be a total chaotic, mad rush for food and water and gas by those who did not prepare. They will trample you to get food, litterally. They will blame the stores, the government, and even you for not taking care of them in a time of crisis. I've seen fights over simple things like a gallon of milk. A gallon of gas. Stupid! It was like a 3rd world country. Shocking.

Here's what my wife and I do now:

We have a 6KW generator (about $500 at the big box stores), and enough QUALITY extension cords and gang plugs (don't forget the gang plugs or you'll be unplugging a light in one room and stumbling through the dark with extension cord in hand to get to another room and plug one in there, don't ask me how I know that!) to power a bunch of stuff together.

We also bought a cheap little window A/C unit that the generator can handle along with the fridge and some lights. Just large enough to keep your bedroom cool so you can sleep at night. Don't go nuts with the size or you'll burn up all your reserves of gas.

At the first sign of a hurricane FILL your car with fuel. Fill your wife's car with fuel. Fill your kid's car with fuel. Do this 3 days before anyone else who is sitting on their duffs pondering how long they can procrastinate before taking action. Fill your boat if it's not a premix boat, as that can be used as a fuel supply should things not come online soon enough. Fill enough auxiliary cans that you think would last a week when running the the generator under load for a handful of hours a day (they burn more gas the more stuff you have plugged into them).

Get yourself a cheap little weber kettle grill for $80 and a few bags of charcoal. Also a little "chimney" charcoal starter to make life simple and easy. Keep a stack of newspapers to use as fuel in the chimney starter. Charcoal grill is safer to store than propane in your house/garage (don't use it inside obviously).

Get a ton of bottled water, lots of it, like AT LEAST 4 cases of the small bottles for 2 adults. You'll need about 1 gallon per person, per day.

Before the storm hits, turn your freezers and fridges to their coldest setting.

Stock up on ice if you don't have a generator. Blocks are far better than cubes. Fill your freezer and fridge to the gills with gallons of water. They will stay cooler longer if they are full of cold stuff. You'll want 2-3 gallons of milk, a couple dozen eggs as those are things that you can survive on as long as they are cold. Get a few boxes of cereal for your milk.

You'll need more than that to eat obviously, but that will get you started. During hurricane season we stock the freezer with burgers, hot dogs, etc as those are things we will cook on the grill. Also lots of bread, peanut butter, jelly, and other food items, focusing on non-perishable stuff in case you run out of gas with the generator (or ice).

Personally I would not stay in a wood-frame house that is NOT hurricane rated in any hurricane over a cat 2. A wood frame house that is hurricane rated my butt would vacate at Cat 3. Our house has poured concrete walls, floors, ceilings on both levels and hurricane shutter and we feel safe here until a cat 4. I can't offer you advice on how to prep your wood home for a hurricane, maybe others can though.

If you're going to leave, don't waste time debating it. Pack your stuff and leave before the rush so you don't go through a hurricane parked in traffic on I95.

Hope I didn't bore you guys with the details, but that's our hurricane preparation in a nutshell, and it's worked through three hurricanes, so hopefully it will help some people in the future who have not been through one.

The beauty of the shopping list (barring the generator and window A/C) is that it's all stuff that will come in handy in everyday life. You'll eat all the food and water anyways should the hurricane come through or not. So you're not spending a ton of cash on stuff that will go to waste should the storm not hit.

The best thing about a hurricane is that you get great warnings from NHC and they are slow-moving. If you're in doubt, pack up early and head West young man!!

To all those getting pounded out there as we speak, my heart goes out to you and I hope the damage is extremely minimal, like just a good yard cleaning! Just remember how lucky you are that it wasn't a cat 5, and that will put things into perspective.

-T