Hurricane to do list

After surviving Charlie, Francis and Jeanne in 2004, my family learned a lot of lessons. As Irene heads up the East Coast, there are a lot of people without any idea what they need to do before it hits. Plus, while I live in Florida now, I am a New Englander!

First, go shopping. Think about nothing to cook with unless you have a gas stove. Don't think about using the BBQ grill until it is all over.

Buy
Bread, Peanut Butter/Jelly and marshmallow, fresh fruit or canned as long as you have a hand held can opener. Cereal and comfort foods should be on your list too.

Milk, cold cuts and bags of ice to put in a cooler. If you don't have one, buy one. Keep the bags of ice in your freezer in case the power goes out and then load them into the cooler along with anything that has to stay cold.

Avoid buying frozen foods.

Water, water and more water.

Batteries for a radio and if you don't have one, get one. If your power goes out, your cable TV will too. Forget about portable TV's (analog) because you need cable to get a signal. Batteries for flashlights. Candles do little good if you have nothing to light them with so make sure you have a few lighters or matches to last. Do not leave candles burning unless you are in the room.

Make sure your cell phone is fully charged. Think about buying a car charger so that you can power it up from your car if the power is out for too long. Most people do not have land lines anymore. If you have a battery operated/electric home phone and the power goes out, it will not work.

Buy meats only if they will fit into a cooler so that you can use your grill if the power goes out.

Gas for your car and for your grill for when the hurricane passes.

Think before you buy if you have what you need for at least three days and then think about if you can keep the food safe to eat without any power.

Go to buy plywood for your windows. Taping your windows up won't work with hurricane force winds. Don't forget you need to cut the plywood and need to nail it to your house.

Buy a large tarp in case you lose shingles. It could be a long time before anyone can come to fix your roof.

Buy a bucket in case you lose power and cannot flush your toilet or wash.

Make sure you have enough medicine for at least three days.

Make sure you have some cash in case banks lose power for days.

Shopping done, take care of your home. First remove anything not "nailed down" in your yard. It will save you a lot of grief if there are not things blowing around aimed at your house.

Nail up the plywood to windows. Things left out by your neighbors will blow around plus tree branches can come smashing into them.


Fill your bathtubs and sinks so that you can flush toilets and wash up.

Walk around your property and take a look at trees to see if dead branches should be removed and then get them into a garage until they can be hauled away. If not, then tie up heavy bunches so that the wind will not take them one by one.

Let family members know who to call in case it hits and not everyone is home. This needs to be done in case all you have is a cell phone and cannot power it up or get a signal.

Remember that the wind is not the only thing that you have to worry about. We all live with electronics. No power means nothing will work and this can cause a lot of anguish if you are not ready to rough it a few days and get prepared ahead of time.

For pets

Cats are easy but they may act out so just be aware they may. For dogs, you have to stop feeding and giving water so they can empty themselves before the storm comes. The last thing you want is for your dog to have to go "potty" in the middle of the hurricane. When it is safe, take them out as soon as you can and once it passes, feed them, give them water and plenty of love.

Check for roofing shingles in your yards because if you see them there are roofing nails to go with them somewhere. Watch for broken glass as well.