Florence and Olivia will both make landfall soon, Governors are telling people to put a kit together, is it too late?

Hurricane Florence, 140 mph in the center, Catagory 4.

Impending doom and gloom are descending upon the Eastern Seaboard in the form of a Monster storm, Hurricane Florence is a big one. It may be recorded in history as making landfall the furthest north of any recorded event. People are pulling their boats from the water, boarding up their homes, filling up gas tanks, and as one evacuee put it "I'm all prayed up and ready to go". It is estimated 1.7 million people will be on the way out of the area predicted to be hit the hardest. The storm is now forecast to make landfall late Thursday evening, it seems these storms come ashore in the middle of the night. One million seven hundred thousand people is a lot of humanity to be all headed in the same direction on a highway. I don't want to get too far off subject but I think of what would happen if New York City (8 million) or the Los Angelos area (10 million) all had to leave town at once and head North. The evacuation appears to have started out in an organized manner, the South Easterners know how to react to Hurricanes, to second guess them would be cruel.

There is a lot I don't understand about these tropical storms, such as if I was faced with an evacuation I don't care if the Hurricane is a Catagory 1 or a 5, I would be out of Dodge early, like when it forms off the coast of Western Africa.  I was talking with an acquaintance from Florida about some of the actions people took during last years season when all of that state was impacted by Irene. I failed to understand why people were saying they would not leave their residence until the storm is a Cat 3 or greater.  "Are they nuts?" I asked her, the first drop of rain to hit me would be God's fault the second one would be mine I told her. She explained to me that the building codes had been changed to enable buildings to withstand a Cat 3, "Oh" was the only reply I had. I am a transplanted Northerner to California, I understand blizzards, tornadoes, floods, and a mixture of all of them, but Hurricanes I have very limited knowledge. The Lady from Florida told me she is deathly afraid of experiencing her first major earthquake, I answered: "prepare to be unimpressed, there are very few big ones."

When I was in Memphis Tennesee in the late 60's the tail end of a Hurricane that blew in from Louisiana raised cane with us. I had to receive stitches when a large window exploded into a million shards from the wind, fortunate to not be injured worse I appreciated the repair job performed on my leg. The Southwest gets the tail end of some Hurricanes that are driven North through the Sea of Cortez and drenching Arizona during the monsoon. As far North as I live the biggest impact may be a slight rain, but more than likely the only mention of it outside of the weather report is comments such as "holy cow it's humid".

Humidity for most of the country is a very real weather condition, one that people in the far west have a hard time relating to. Evacuations are not conducted to escape high Humidity, however, those who have never experienced it have no idea of its effect on us. My neighbor went to Texas two weeks ago, Austin to visit her grandchildren, I asked the native Californian how it went and what she thought of the Lone Star State. She told me it was wonderful, then they went to an amusement park when the temperature was nearing 100 F (38 C) and 100% humidity. "How'd it go for you?" I asked her. She replied, "Oh my gosh I thought I was going to die, I have never sweated so much in my life!"

Living in relatively low Humidity, actually, bone-dry air. Sure it's hot, dry, and dusty but as people here say "it's a dry heat." to which I reply "yeah, but so is an oven." I have found one of the two best ways to cope with weather is acceptance, my dear deceased dad would tell me "it's all in your head", in other words, the attitude I take affects my discomfort, and he was correct. The second is to prepare for these occurrences early, don't wait until the last minute.

Empty shelves greet us if we prepare too late.

Long prior to the threat of any natural disaster it is prudent to develop a plan for any possible disaster that may strike. Yes, I preach about this a lot, I hope not a sickening amount, it is important. I am inspired this go around because the Governor of South Carolina has been encouraging people to put an evacuation kit together and evacuate. Actually, the kit should have been put together a long time ago, the evacuation plan should have been practiced, and the communications plan should be firmly fixed in the victims' minds. With a Catagory 4 storm making landfall in two days, the big box stores are already out of the water, the gas stations are out of fuel, and the roads to the marinas blocked, now is really too late for anything but escape.

This Link will lead you to FEMA's disaster planning templates

A seven-day kit is my recommendation for a survival kit, commonly the first responding organizations suggest a 3-day kit. Three days is a good start, it doesn't take much more to extend that to a full week. In the kit is already everything a person needs for 3-days, lighting, fire starter, a blanket, and water. One 24 pack of pint water bottles is the amount required for one person one week, that equals 1/2 gallon a day for drinking. When adding hygienic needs and cooking we should add another 1/2 gallon per day. Really to expand that 3-day kit to a 7-day is adding more water, that is easy to accommodate by cycling the supply through our normal daily activities. A family of four can keep 8 cases on hand easily, using one case each week and on grocery day replace it, we easily consume that much water in a week. Depending upon the damage to the residence will determine if the food in your pantry is able to be used, likewise for the fridge. Regardless in your kit, there should be enough food to last a week, freeze-dried is best, include a pot to boil water with. A bar-b-que, camp stove, or even an open fire is suitable for boiling water to add dried meals to.

This is a typical evacuation kit available commercially prepared,
a good way to prepare. order one here

We cannot assume the food in the pantry or fridge is suitable as a food source especially if there is flooding involved. In the event, the food storage spaces are not impacted and the fridge was not flooded and remains cool we must determine on an individual basis if the supplies are safe. It is recommended to keep track of the temperature inside the refrigerator, that's a good practice, another one is to throw everything in the trash after 3 days, earlier if spoilage is evident. It is not worth risking severe illness because we don't want to "waste" what we have, toss it in the trash without a thought.

Water may be stored in the freezer, it will supply two needs, the first is it will extend the time the freezer temp will stay cold enough to preserve the food, the second is as it melts it may be used for drinking, hygienic, and cooking needs. Gallon zip lock bags work alright, it's not the best way to accomplish this but it will work just fine. A much better way is to purchase water containers made for that purpose, they are low profile allowing them to be placed on the bottom of the freezer and food stack on top of them. Some have a spigot on them and others are merely capped off, any of the three methods will save your food.

Never under any circumstances use flood water for any purpose, it is totally polluted, we don't have any idea what is carried along in it after sweeping over lawns, golf courses, and industrial facilities to name a few. Do not bath in it, wade or swim in it, or attempt to purify it. Likewise, if a well is the supply of water, it is tainted and must not be used until it is tested by a certified lab and declared safe by them. Use only water that is in sealed containers and you know is safe.

Don't mess around with flood water, it's toxic.

A man was interviewed on one of the cable channels, he was pushing a generator on a cart. One of his comments was he had endured a three week period without electrical service last year when Irene hit; he stated that was not going to happen to him again. Personally, the only reason I would purchase one would be to save the food in the freezer and make coffee, in fact, coffee would be my #1 reason. Propane powered coffee makers are available, it would double as a means of heating water for meal preparations also. There are a lot of supplies that fit into the category of personal decisions, sanitation stations, cooking facilities, shelter in the form of a tent, and lighting all are personal choice items.

An extended list of items that "we" need in a kit is pretty useless unless it is custom made for my or your individual or family needs. The commercially available kits have all of the basic stuff we need to survive but they also do not contain the special individual items of which each one of us has. Medication, special hygienic items, coffee cups (and swiss miss chocolate for mine if you please.) and that really warm vest to add security and comfort. Our pets must be taken into consideration also.

In our emergency planning the family cat, dog, birds, and fish must be taken into consideration. A portable cage for the bird and a gallon mason jar for aquatic pets are a must for them. As for the family dog and cat, fliers may be made up early and placed into the evacuation kits of each family member. Take a photo of your pet and all of the family members, people are more apt to recognize the animal when the owners face is near it because most of the time, with dogs at least, they are seen with their human owners. Cats, on the one hand, hide close to the house many times when they panic and are found in a great number of cases. Dogs, however, run fast, far, and are panic-stricken, rarely are they found after a flood, fire, or total destruction. I have a dog that would disappear, she would panic and run off into the woods never to be seen again, so my priority is to contain her and keep her safe.

A photo like this is perfect.

I want to commemorate the anniversary of the attack on the Twin Towers, 9/11 as we refer to it, the pain of losing loved ones is never eased. Many of the people, everyone involved was either killed or forever scarred by that event, I'm sure the nightmares are never-ending. Our foster daughters brother was servicing an air conditioner in the second tower on that fateful day, he heard the explosions and climbed out of the duct work. He hit the deck running and escaped physically unharmed, mentally is much different. Within six months he moved his family to Oregon and works only on residential homes.

The human tragedy is the aftermath of every disaster, some on a large scale, some on an individual level but all are devastating to the victims. Now we are heading into Hurricane season, while we are in the midst of wildfire season, and Tornado season right around the corner. Hawaii is dealing with another Hurricane one month after the most recent one struck that island, all the while Lava flows into the ocean. Olivia will make landfall almost in the exact spot where the Lava filled in a bay. When rainfall is measured in feet versus inches, we know we are in a deadly situation. Thanks for reading and sharing my blog, we can all help with monetary donations or direct to relatives and friends, prayers are always in line. As is preparing for our own moment which is sure to come at some time, prepare for the worst and hope for the best.

jacquesandkate  emergencykitsplus.com