Financial preparedness is a must for any disaster as well as every day.
Disaster preparedness is a necessary evil when you live in Florida and even more so for South Florida and the Keys. For me, I previously lived Central Florida for 25 years in an area where no one even dreamed there would be one hurricane let alone three (Frances, Jeanne and Charley) in a six week period. It began with Charley on August 13th, then Jeanne on September 6 (Labor Day), and ended with Charley on September 25th. Storm rattled residents were beyond weary and unprepared as they were slammed one hurricane after another.
I learned a lot from this experience and I would like to pass along my personal tips for those seeking to prepare and those who are procrastinators. (Note, this is not an all encompassing list.) Here are some of my disaster preparedness items:
- Cash, cash, cash! Luckily, my husband and I were putting away cash in a secret place in case of an emergency. It sure came in handy to buy supplies and food as there were no credit card machines operating in any store and cash was the only way to obtain anything! Bank ATMs were also not operating and banks weren’t open to get cash.
- Battery operated radios, flashlights + extra batteries. Batteries run out quickly, so be sure to buy more than you think you need. You can also buy LED flashlights as well as LED lights with a stretch band to go around your head for hands free maneuvering. Old fashioned kerosene lamps also work great. Beware of using candles both for fire safety and because they contain paraffin a chemical and smoky odor.
- Buy 2 gallons of water per day x 7 days = 14 gallons per person. Yes, this seems excessive, but it took a little more than a week to get the water and electricity back on, so 1 gal per person for 3 days won’t be enough. Some Florida Keys residents didn’t have water in some areas for a month or more.
- Buy Blue tarps, tar paper, roofing nails and extra shingles. Buy them now before the prices sky rocket and store shelves will be empty. After 2004, roofing nails were like “gold” and were hard to come by!
- Buy gas containers and fill them before the hurricane. Gas stations were running out of gas before the hurricane and then there was rationing, so prepare a week or so ahead of time.
- Non-perishable food. These items were the “go to” foods that kept us alive. Gator Aid, water (previously mentioned), peanut butter or almond butter, nuts of any type, raisins, black beans, kidney beans, chick peas, canned fruit, canned vegetables, canned refried beans, tuna, instant oatmeal, cereal, etc. (Bread went bad too quickly.)
- Gas grill and/or propane cooking stove. You would be surprised at the types of meals you can cook on camping stoves. Just remember to buy more than one gas or propane tank. We were able to cook inside during the hurricane with a propane cooking stove.
- Weather tight file boxes with handles. These are meant for important papers that you’ll need in an emergency and you have to start all over again. You don’t need to take “all” your files with you–just the most relevant ones.
- Portable Solar power panels. Staying connecting after a hurricane is even more important due to theft, vandalism and other emergencies experienced trying to clean up. Of course, this is assuming the cell towers still work. These devices charge cell phones and laptops and they have really come down in price. You can find solar panels at Harbor Freight for almost every budget.
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