How to Prepare a Hurricane Emergency Kit
Since the Hurricane season has started again, we wanted to dust off this article and give you a reminder about preparing an Emergency Hurricane Kit. If you live anywhere in the vicinity of where one could strike, you should have an evacuation route planned out and a Hurricane Emergency Kit in your home or car.
When you prepare your kit, make sure you have enough supplies for at least 3 days, but 5 days is optimum. We went through Hurricane Hugo and now know the importance of having these supplies on hand. We didn’t and our power was out almost 2 weeks. Within hours of the hurricane coming through our area, there was no money in the ATM’s, no batteries or flashlights at stores, no generators, no gas grills, and the list goes on and on.
Making sure you are prepared for a disaster can sometimes make the difference between life and death – literally. Save the money on expensive kits and create your own Hurricane Emergency Kit with our do it yourself projects!
Prepare a Hurricane Emergency Kit:
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Food and Water:
Make sure you have 1 gallon of water per day, per person on hand. Remember, when disaster strikes, chances are that even if you have running water, it will not be good to drink without boiling. That will not help you if you have no electricity that you can use to boil the water.
Since you probably will not be able to use a stove due to no electricity, you need to be stocked with non perishable food. These could include:
- Crackers
- Soup
- Canned Vegetables and Fruit
- Pouch or canned Tuna
- Cereal
- Dried Fruits
- Protein or Granola Bars
- Crackers
- Peanut Butter
- Hand held can opener
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First Aid Kit:
While you should always have a first aid kit on hand in your home, you should also have one to be included with your emergency kit. Items in this kit should be contained in a large ziploc bag and should contain the following:
- Antibiotic Ointment
- Bandaids
- Alcohol
- Gauze
- Scissors
- Aspirin or pain reliever
- Insect repellent
- Gloves
- Tape
- Tweezers
- Safety Pins
- Important prescription medication
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Supplies:
While we think about the obvious items such as a flashlight, there are others that we forget until it is too late. Your Supply list should include:
- FlashlightBlankets
- Knife (Swiss Army knife is preferable)
- Battery operated Radio
- Batteries
- Lighter or matches
- Eating utensils
- Paper plates
- Napkins or paper towels
- Antibacterial gel or wipes
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Other Items:
- Important documents such as birth certificates, passports, social security cards, insurance papers should be readily available.
- Make sure your gas tanks are filled
- Board games or toys for small children
- Sturdy shoes (not flip flops)
- Long sleeve shirts and long pants
- Rain Jacket
- Cash and Credit Cards
- Hygiene items
- Pets and pet care items!
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Prepare The Kit
Since it isn’t feasible to always have this bag packed, you should put it all together as soon as there is a threat for disaster in your area. Make sure you have everything accessible, and putting together your bag will be quick and painless.
- Have a section of your home allotted specifically for your emergency kit. This needs to be a big enough area to store your water and perishable food items.
- You should also have individual backpacks for each member of your family in case you need to flee your home. These bags should include food and water at minimum.
- Have personal documents inside water proof bag
- Make sure first aid kit, blankets and clothing are in water proof bags as well
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Remember, being prepared BEFORE the event is the key to making a bad situation a little more tolerable. For more Home and Garden or security tips, check us out!
For more information on preparing for a Hurricane or other natural disaster, check out the National Hurricane Center.
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