Screenshot of MyRadar weather app
My Father in Law decided to hunker down in Florida over the weekend to ride out Hurricane Irma. Relatively speaking, he was in a safer spot in Florida, just North of Palm Beach and west of the immediate coastline. He had many of us rather worried about him in the lead up to the hurricane when we weren't sure exactly how hard Irma would hit, and where. Last week I spent some time researching things that he could do in preparation for the hurricane. I am going to try to include some of the more creative and unique ideas in my post.
#1 One of the first things that I learned is that if you live in a location that is prone to hurricanes, toward the end of the summer, you should start stocking up on things that can easily be stored and will be hard to come by during a mad rush, like bottled water and batteries. Yes, I know, not so creative but first things first!
#2 Keep a road atlas on hand. In times where evacuation is necessary, you may not be able to depend on the GPS on your cell phone. It is good to have a route planned to get to safety and perhaps even a few backup routes.
#3 Download the Zello app: Zello is a free app that uses Wi-Fi and cellular networks to connect people from around the world by turning their phones into walkie talkies. We used this app to keep in contact with my Father In Law during the storm.
Quarter in The Cup Tip which shows you how to freeze a cup and place a quarter on top and keep it in your freezer. You can check to see if your food thawed if the quarter is at the bottom of the cup. Ingenious!#4 Thanks to @voronoi for posting this
#5 So you know to fill your bathtubs and sinks with water, but did you know that you could fill your washing machine with ice and use it as a cooler?
#6 You may have heard the hack about storing all of your valuables in your dishwasher. Don't do it! It's a great idea in theory. The dishwasher is a sealed off and leak-proof area, however, if the sewer were to back up somewhere along the line, guess where it would go? Yep... up through your dishwasher.
#7 Fill up ziploc bags with water and freeze them in your freezer. This will help the items in your freezer stay cold longer, in case of a power outage.
#8 Make sure you have extra propane for your grill (ahem, make sure you store your grill in a safe place). In the days after the hurricane if you are without power, you can always use your grill to cook.
#9 Raid your local military supply store. If you have one near, they have all kinds of excellent survival tools like crank radios and water purifiers.
#10 Strap a headlight over a jug of water to make a light like they did over at LifeHacker
Stay smart and stay safe my friends, and hopefully hurricane season is nearing the end!
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All very handy tips I intend to utilize the very next time I encounter a hurticane --- or a flood for that matter.
I would just utilize them during the next rain shower just for practice ;-)