The Ultimate Hurricane Preparation Guide

Hurricane Preparation Guide and Checklist for Florida

Be Prepared. Hurricane Season starts June 1st and ends November 30th.

If you live in Florida, you're all too familiar with the fear, stress, and devastation hurricanes can cause. They can produce devastating flooding and electrical outages, not to mention the need to evacuate. Luckily, meteorologists can track their path, allowing you time to prepare.

But don't wait until the last minute. Once you've been told to evacuate, you don't have much time. Get ahead of the storm with our Guide to Hurricane Preparation.

How to Prepare for a Hurricane

Gather Food and Water

If a hurricane is hitting your area, you can’t just leave your home to go to the store or the local restaurant. Not only would you be putting yourself at risk of serious injury or even death, but most businesses are closed. That's why you need to stock up.

What should you buy? It’s a good idea to purchase canned foods since you don’t have to cook them. They are ready to eat just in case you lose power and are left sitting in the dark for hours. Having high-energy foods is also essential for staying active and responsive because you never know what emergency actions you might have to take during these drastic times.

Other food items you might consider packing include:

Baby food
Comfort food – for relieving stress
Ready-to-eat meats
Dried fruit

Also, be sure to store enough drinks for each person in your residence. Water is always the best option, but you can also purchase beverages that don't require refrigeration, such as juice boxes and pouches. Ideally, you should gather up one gallon of water per person. A three-day supply should suffice, at least until the storm passes or help comes your way.

Put Together a First-Aid Kit

When getting ready for a hurricane, you always want to plan for worst-case scenarios. That’s where first-aid kits come in handy. They are one of the essential resources for your hurricane preparedness checklist. You shouldn’t just choose any first-aid kit, though. It needs to have specific items.

cold and heat packs
tweezers, scissors
adhesive bandages
antiseptic wipes
antibacterial ointment
sterile dressings
sterile gauze pads
prescription medication
protective eyewear

When these items are in your first-aid kit, you’ll be ready for whatever emergency situation comes your way. Who knows? These items could end up saving you or another person’s life.

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Collect the Right Tools

Whatever precarious scenarios come your way, you’ll be fully prepared when you have the right tools on hand. There are many items you’ll need, including:

flashlights
tape
compasses
fire extinguisher
whistles
signal flares
paper
maps
emergency blankets
battery-powered radios
utility knives
batteries (various sizes)
candles
matches
battery powered lantern

Instead of leaving these items scattered around the house, purchase a carrying tote for them. Traveling with these items will then be much easier, and you can find the right tool in a matter of seconds.

Prepare Your Home

To make a hurricane more manageable to deal with, you can prepare your home accordingly. You should board up all windows with wooden planks, so if extreme winds break the glass, the planks will serve as some form of protection until the storm ends. If any items can be picked up by wind outside, you need to store them inside quickly.

It’s a good idea to fill the bathtub up with water. You never know how long you’ll have to wait out the hurricane, and having a tub filled with water can be used as an emergency supply if your bottled water runs out. If your home has multiple stories, place an ax in the attic. That way, if flooding does occur and water levels rise rather quickly, the ax is your way out when all exits are blocked.

If you have pets, they need to either be locked up in a room or you need to put them in a secure kennel. You wouldn’t want your pets frantically rushing out of your home into the dangerous weather elements, after all.

>>We always suggest protecting your AC during a storm. Check out this guide for more information.<<

Stay Positive

If you’re caught in a hurricane, an integral part of hurricane preparedness is staying as positive as you can. It sounds pretty standard, but you’d be surprised at how many people start freaking out and end up making their situation much worse. Staying positive doesn’t just help you, either. It can help your entire family, especially when they see you handling the situation so well.

There are many ways you can put yourself in a positive frame of mind. You could share personal stories with your family, basically anything to get their minds off of the storm. Listening to peaceful music can also help calm your nerves, no matter how severe the weather is outside.

It’s also paramount to keep things in perspective. Even though you might lose a lot of your possessions, the most important thing is you and your family’s safety. As long as everyone can walk away from the hurricane unharmed, you can always pick up the pieces and begin anew.

Follow the Right After-Storm Steps

Once the hurricane seems to have subsided, your job is not over. You still need to listen for any Once the hurricane seems to have subsided, your job is not over. You still need to listen to any weather/news updates in your area. If it’s truly safe to exit your home, you’ll receive notifications from emergency authorities.

After getting the go-ahead that the storm has passed, leave your property and don’t return until officials deem it safe to do so. You can take this time to gather essentials and move your family to a safe location nearby. As you’re exiting, be sure to stay away from any loose or damaged power lines. Also, avoid taking roads that are flooded or seem severely damaged.

And remember...

Should your AC go out after a hurricane, contact Easy A/C. We offer 24-Hour Emergency AC Repair in the Tampa Bay area. We’ll get you back up and running in no time.