24 Hurricane Preparedness Tips! (Survival Guide)

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Wondering how to prepare for a hurricane? Get started today with these simple Hurricane Preparedness Tips!

Whether you’re living in a hurricane zone or will be visiting one soon… take some time to prepare yourself, your family, and your home with this detailed list of Hurricane Preparedness Tips. From making DIY candles from oranges to prepping your overall survival kit and emergency water and food supplies, get yourself prepared with these brilliant hurricane prep ideas and tips!

Are you ready to get started? Here’s what you’ll need…

Hurricane Preparedness Tips

What do you Need to do Before a Hurricane?

1) Stock up on Bottled Water: At the very first mention of a hurricane even possibly coming to your area soon, go out and buy bottled water! Once a hurricane is on its way, cases of water can be in very limited supply. Stocking up on bottled water should be your first priority.

Frugal Tip: Get your bottled water and stock up on food for FREE at Walmart or Target with some of my favorite tricks for earning free gift cards!

How to Earn Free Walmart Gift Cards

Target Savings Hacks

2) Store Extra Water in Plastic Soda Bottles: Save your used 2 liter soda bottles. Wash the soda bottles with dish soap and hot water, rinsing well. Fill each cleaned bottle with water and place a date on the outside of the bottle so you know when you filled it. Water should be replaced every 6 months.

3) Fill your Bathtub with Water: The day before the predicted hurricane, be sure to fill all bath tubs with water. You can even clean out your garbage cans ahead of time and fill them with water. If you fill your outside garbage cans with water, be sure to store them in your garage. It’s incredible that 120 mph winds are even strong enough to blow over garbage cans that are filled with water!

You can use the water you’re storing in your bathtubs and garbage cans for sanitation purposes. Use it to wash your hands and for flushing toilets. You can also use the water in your bathtub as a source of emergency drinking water. Use these water purification tablets to make sure the water is safe to drink.

Water Purification Tablets

Top Off the Gas Tanks in Your Cars:

4) Fill up your Car’s Gas Tank Before the Storm Hits: Whether you plan on evacuating the area or not, you will definitely want to fill up your car’s tank with gas as soon as possible to avoid long lines. After the storms passes, lack of electricity or other damage from the storm may cause many gas stations to be closed. Having a tank full of gas is one of the most important hurricane preparedness tips… and it will sure give you some peace of mind!

5) Have a Backup Power Source: Buy a generator way before hurricane season even starts. During hurricane season, purchase enough gasoline to run each generator for 7 – 10 days. One generator can be used for your air conditioning and a separate generator can power your refrigerator, lights, and other necessities.

Having only one generator means you might have to choose between running your air conditioner or your refrigerator, freezer and cell phones. One generator isn’t always enough to handle all your needs.

6) Get a Pump/Siphon: You might run out of gasoline to run your generator, so it’s a smart idea to have a Pump/Siphon on hand. You can siphon the gas from your car’s tank to keep your generator running.

How Can I Tell if the Food in my Freezer has Gone Bad?

7) Use the One Cup Trick: If you have to evacuate, fill a cup with water and place it in the freezer until frozen. Once the water is frozen, place a quarter on top of the frozen ice and put the cup back in your freezer. When you return after evacuating, see if the quarter is still on the top of the ice or if it has sunk down into the ice. That way you can tell if your food defrosted and just refroze, or if it stayed frozen while you were gone.

8) Stock up on Emergency Food Supplies: After a hurricane, it can often be very difficult to buy food from your local grocery store for several days. That’s why its important to stock up on Emergency Food Supply Kits. These food kits offer meals ranging from lasagna to scrambled eggs. Yum! A warm meal can be a real boost to morale in a crisis.

9) Barbara writes: “When I first moved to New Orleans, an older friend told me what she did while everyone else was running to the grocery store. She baked a couple of loaves of bread and would get the largest cut of meat in her freezer and fix it. She told me they would either have good sandwiches or, if the storm missed them, they would have the start of a celebratory meal.”

10) Get a Propane Stove: Be sure to get a propane stove so you can still cook when the power goes out. Nothing beats a hot delicious meal, no matter the circumstances!

11) Have your Stovetop Coffee Maker Ready: In a tough situation, there’s nothing better for a boost in morale that a hot cup of coffee! This coffee maker will work with a propane stove! Some of the ones at https://coffee-channel.com/best-stainless-steel-stovetop-espresso-maker/ are also worth considering.

How to Prepare the Inside of your Home for a Hurricane:

12) Create a Safe Room: Designate a “safe room” in your home and make sure everyone knows where it is. It should be similar to the kind of safe room you’d choose during a tornado – a closet with solid walls, a door, and no windows. If you have a larger walk in closet, grab folding chairs, blankets, pillows, and an air mattress. This will help you stay cozy and comfy while your in you’re safe room for several hours waiting for the hurricane to pass through your area.

Folding Chairs

Air Mattress

13) Get Your Camping Gear Ready: If you are lucky enough to have electricity after the hurricane passes, offer a shower, hot meal, and a bit of time in your air conditioned home to your friends.

Patti writes: “Many of my friends went days without a hot meal or a shower. Once one friend would get electricity, they’d invite other friends to “share the comforts of life” – even to the point of making meals and having sleepovers. Camping gear came in handy for all the sleeping bags in the living room and family room.”

What to do in a Power Outage at Home:

14) Grab some Card Games and Board Games: If you don’t have electricity, your iPad and smart phone batteries will run low and you will be bored to tears before long. That’s why it’s important to make sure you have some board games and card games to provide entertainment until the power is restored.

Have Your Survival Kits Handy:

15) Make a Homemade Survival Kit: Nobody ever plans to be in a survival situation. When the unexpected actually happens, you’ll give yourself a little pat on the back and thank yourself for planning ahead! These Homemade Survival Kits are extremely useful to have on hand in a hurricane. These survival kits are like carrying a small convenience store around in a jar!

16) Make a DIY Mini Survival Kit: I definitely love this DIY Mini Survival Kit! This is the compact version of the survival kit above and it’s the perfect addition to your backpack, or your car’s glovebox! It takes hardly any space to store and is a valuable resource when any unexpected emergency pops up away from home!

How can I Receive Emergency Broadcasts if the Power is Out?

17) Get a Hand Crank Emergency Radio: This Hand Crank Emergency Radio will let you hear emergency broadcasts even if the power is out at your home and your cell phone battery is all used up. I’ve had one of these for years and I love it. Having one of these hand crank radios is definitely one of the most practical hurricane preparedness tips, and you can even charge your smartphone with it!

18) Make an Altoid Tin Candle: This double wick Altoid Tin Candle is the perfect light source to have on hand when the power goes out. It’s the ultimate compact candle, and the double wick burns for over 6 hours!

What to do if You Run Out of Candles:

19) Turn an Orange into a Candle: Did you know… you can make a candle from an orange peel? Yes, it’s true! This little orange peel candle works like a charm! If the power ever goes out and you’re low on candles, this Orange Peel Candle is the perfect DIY trick! All you need is an orange and some cooking oil and your ready to go!

20) Make a Milk Jug Lantern: To make this Milk Jug Lantern, wash out a milk jug and remove the label. Then, fill the milk jug up with water and strap on a headlamp pointing into the milk jug. That’s it! It’s a clever repurposing trick that creates a soft light that’s ideal for reading, playing a game, and illuminating your safe room.

21) Get a Lantern: It’s always useful to have a lantern or two on hand in case you loose your power. This Etekcity 2 Pack Led Lantern is designed for convenience with an extremely lightweight build. When not in use, the lantern can collapse into a smaller size enabling easier storage, taking little space. Having a lantern means you can play a card game and find your way around your house even after it gets dark.

22) Have Extra Garbage Bags on Hand: Garbage collection services may be temporarily suspended after a hurricane, so having extra garbage bags handy is a necessity. Check out this easy DIY Grocery Bag Dispenser! Make one now so the garbage doesn’t take over later!!

What to do if You Have to Evacuate Your Home:

23) Dish Washer Trick: If you have to evacuate with little or no warning, place any paper documents, valuable photos, electronics, and keepsakes you can’t bring with you in plastic ziplock bags and put them in your dishwasher. Your dishwasher is waterproof and secured to cabinets so it’s more likely to survive a hurricane. Before placing any valuables in your dishwasher, be sure to turn off the water supply to your house and unload any dishes from the dishwasher.

24) Board up your Windows: As a hurricane approaches, protecting your home becomes a top priority. One of the most vulnerable areas for damage to your home are your windows. If you don’t have hurricane shutters, 3/4 inch plywood boards are the next best thing. Get your plywood boards for free at Home Depot with some of my favorite little known tricks…