Whether we call it a hurricane, a tropical cyclone, or a typhoon we can all agree about the terror and devastation of this weather phenomenon can cause. We cannot stop it, the only thing we can do is be ready. To give you some tips on how we can be ready in case this weather phenomenon occurs, we have done some research and compiled what we think is the most essential and most helpful out of them for you.

 To be prepared we need to know what we think we are going to need during and after the hurricane. Ask yourself, what should I stock up for a hurricane?

• The essentials; food and clean water to drink. This is the most essential thing we need to prepare.
  
• Health care essentials such as first-aid kit and medicines. We need to be able to tend for ourselves in case help cannot come immediately.
  
• Important documents. We might question ‘How will that aid our survive a hurricane?’ but this plays a vital role in us surviving.
  
• Sanitary supplies. Clothes, beddings, toiletries most especially soaps.
  
• Tools and other non-food, water, or health-related supplies such as any publications or helpful tools that can help us before, during and after the hurricane, cash, any sources of energy like batteries, power banks, and many more.
  
• This is not much of a thing that we can really physically stock up but it is just as vital, prepare a list of any agencies or anyone you can contact during emergencies.

These are what we think are the most essential things that we need to stock up on in case such calamity occurs. The least of the thing that we can do to ensure our survival is to be informed, be vigilant, and be prepared.

Things we need to stock up on to prepare for a hurricane

 According to an article posted in pmm.nasa.gov entitled ‘What is a Hurricane, Typhoon, or Tropical Cyclone?’ the terms “hurricane” and “typhoon” are regionally specific names for a strong “tropical cyclone”. These are tropical storms that have winds of about 119 kilometers per hour or higher and are scientifically called “tropical cyclone”.

 Over the years we have encountered some of the strongest and most devastating tropical cyclones, but what is alarming is, when we thought that we have seen the most terrifying ones they keep on getting stronger. Now, there are hurricanes recording winds higher than 200mph bringing in heavy rainfalls and storm surges as high as 10 feet terrorizing everything in its wake. So how can we prepare for a hurricane?

 When it comes to preparing for such an unpredictable phenomenon, we need to not only think of what we need to prepare before and during the hurricane, it is just as important to prepare for what we need after⏤it may even be the most important.

Prepare for our essential needs

 During hurricanes, we might not have any access to any potable water that is why we need to make sure that we will have such a commodity as this is one of the most important things our body needs. Make sure that there will be plenty of clean drinking water for each member of our family including our pets.

Allocate at least 2 to 3 liters or a gallon per day for each member of the family for at least 5-7 days. It may also be best to invest in such tools that can filter and clean water so we can still have clean drinkable water in case our stock runs out.

 We need to stock up on foods to be a source of energy on times like this. Hurricanes can cause too much devastation that may leave us confined to our homes without any access to anything other than what we have in our houses.

Prepare ready to eat or easy to cook non-perishable foods. Best to stock up on ready to eat foods that are packed with nutrition to sustain us during the devastation until everything will be good enough again. Foods such as nuts, dried fruits, bread, canned foods, energy bars and others that require no cooking just in case we will also be limited to somewhere we will not have any means to really cook anything.

Make sure to prepare for any emergency health concerns

 Be sure to prepare on such time that we will be required to tend to ourselves and our family on any emergency needs that require immediate attention or any unexpected health-related conditions such as fever and the likes.

Pack-up disinfectants, gauze, bandages, over-the-counter medications that are safe to take even if we do not have much food in our stomachs, bandages, cold compress, vitamins, and many more. Red Cross put together a very detailed list of everything our first-aid kit should contain, check it out as well.

 Aside from packing our first-aid kits to help us on such unpredictable emergency need, we need to also make sure that if any of the members in our family take any prescribed medication or maintenance medicines that they also have plenty of stock to sustain them in maybe a minimum of two weeks or longer if needed. We need to think of a situation where we will not have any access to the usual commodities that we have and will not be able to go back to our normal way of living before the hurricane strikes for weeks.

Secure all our important documents

 While this might not save us during the hurricane it is very important to pack it in a secure, water-proof, and easy to grab sealed containers in case we may need to be evacuated elsewhere during the storm. Make sure to put them all in one easy to access water-proof container to keep them dry and safe, we also need to make sure that we put them in a place that we can easily grab them when we need to go.

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 Secure copies of any identification papers, bank accounts, insurance policies, land titles and any other critical documentation that we need. This will essentially be very vital after the hurricane passed and we are now trying to get back to our normal day to day activities.

Sanitary supplies

 Everything might be in disarray and we may find ourselves unable to be living in any ideal situations but sanitation will still play a hugely important role in our well-being during these times. We will still need to make sure that we keep everything properly cleaned and sanitized to avoid worse living conditions and possible health concerns that we may encounter during and after the hurricane.

 We need to make sure that we will still be able to take care of our hygienic needs such as soaps, shampoos, toothpaste, toothbrush, deodorants, sanitizers, extra items of clothing and others to keep us clean, virus and bacteria-free as much as we can, given that we may not be in living in any ideal conditions.

Make sure, if it is within our means, to also have any sleeping bags or blankets to sleep on especially in case we need to be evacuated away from our place.

 We might want to also stock up on wet wipes and moist towelettes to clean ourselves in the replacement of a proper bath if we are not able to take one. Be sure to also stock up diapers if there is a baby or an elderly in the family so they can still have something to use as we make it through until the hurricane pass and we can go back to normal.

Survival tools and supplies

 Part of preparing a hurricane survival kit is stocking up on any tools and supplies that will be able to help us get through it. Make sure we have the basic items like matches, flash-lights, multi-purpose tools maybe a swiss army knife, a flare, a whistle or anything we can use in case we need to call some help and our phones are useless.

 It is also best to pack some energy sources like power banks, solar chargers, generators, fuels, batteries and such. It is best to stock up on energy resources since most of the time the first to be affected by a hurricane is our power resources that generate electricity.

Maybe our home is one of those houses that efficiently harness energy via the sun but it might not be as useful in times of a hurricane strike so it would still be nice to have some other means of generating power.

 We might also want to have a good cooler that we can fill with ice to be an alternative to keep our foods that needed to stay on cool temperature to keep from spoiling. Of course, we would not be stocking up on such foods like that but we need this to prolong the life on any items that are already stored in our refrigerators before the hurricane was even formed. That way we may still be able to consume them immediately during the hurricane to avoid waste.

Stay alert and be informed

 The best way to prepare for such a phenomenon is to arm ourselves with the right knowledge and information to be able to survive such challenges especially any weather phenomenon like a hurricane. One of the most helpful guides we found on how to prepare for a hurricane by FEMA, emphasize this as well.

Almost in every seminar, publications, or any informative form of media they advised us to stay calm and alert during any form of emergencies as this may be our best chance for survival. If we are calm and alert we can think better and when we can think better we can do our very best to find a way to survive.

 The way for us to be calm is when we know what to do. Study, research, prepare, and always make sure that we stay informed on the latest progress regarding where the hurricane is heading, how strong are the winds it brought with it, how much rain is anticipated to pour on its path, and most importantly whether it will be best for us to evacuate. 

Plan ahead. First, we need to make sure that we equip our households to withstand any unforeseen calamity to the best of our abilities. Second, keep tabs on the latest news and updates. We need to make sure that we are in the know.

Be on the watch for any advisory and warnings our weather services or any local and national government offices put out so we can better anticipate and plan our actions as the hurricane takes its course. Third, prepare and plan for evacuation.

Know the location of every evacuation shelter in the area and familiarize every route that needed to be taken to get there. And most importantly, listen to the authorities. If they say that we need to evacuate, do not be stubborn and just go. It is for our best.

 It is also important that we keep tabs of all emergency contacts that we may need during the calamity. Make sure to list government numbers especially formed to assist in such emergency like the weather services, local police, fire department, local hospitals, and any other government or non-government emergency services.

Related Questions

When does hurricane season usually start?

Officially, the Atlantic hurricane season starts on June 1 and runs until Nov. 30 

As we are all thought during our science class, hurricanes form over warm ocean waters that move towards the land bringing strong winds and heavy rainfalls that causes storm surges, flooding, and other devastating effects in all the areas it can reach.

These hurricanes are categorized based on the maximum wind that it can sustain, from 1 to 5. This is based on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale where it tells us just how dangerous and devastating a hurricane may be. 

According to various resources, the term hurricane is mostly used for tropical cyclones that occur in most parts of the Atlantic region while it is called a typhoon if it occurs somewhere in the Pacific region, around the Northwest part of it specifically. Hurricane season almost lasts just as long on both regions except that it starts in June in the Atlantic region while it starts in May in the Pacific region.

How to make sure our house is ready for a hurricane?

     We may not have built a hurricane proof house but we sure can make it safe enough to withstand it. Now there are already some hurricane-proof houses built to protect us from such calamity but if we do not belong to those who live there, there are some ways we can make sure that our houses can keep us safe during a hurricane.

 Here are some tips:

• Clean up your drainages and gutters, this may help prevent flooding.
• Make sure that there are no outside clutter, furniture, and tree branches that can be blown away by the wind and cause damage to your house.
• Inspect the welfare of your house. Make sure there are no leaks on your roofs and no cracks on any part of your house. But if there are make sure to fix it immediately.
• Make sure to cover any glass windows and doors to prevent them from shattering during the hurricane. Plywoods are a good cheap alternative that we can use.
• Invest in a good power surge protection for our electric appliances to avoid any damages a sudden power surge may cause.
• If you have your house heating system or air conditioning system outside your house make sure that those are covered and properly protected as well.

      To better have a safe and worry-free time as much as we can while experiencing a hurricane we need to be prepared. Like we have mentioned know what you need to stock up on, how to be prepared, and what you need to do to survive. Again, be informed, stay alert, and be ready.