Lets all put our heads together and share experiences, tips and ideas that might help someone get through Sandy safely.
I’ll start…
-Secure loose items outside your house!!!! The winds may not be strong enough to break a window but flying debris will break glass. That means take down wind chimes, bird feeders, bring in trashcans, move plants inside, secure patio furniture, etc. Anything left outdoors can and will become a projectile. If items are too large to be brought inside, secure them the best you can. Ask you neighbors to do the same so their items do not blow through your windows.
-Freeze jugs of water. Then you will have block ice to keep food cold and after the jugs melt, you have drinking water. Once the power goes off, move jugs of frozen water from the freezer into the fridge and keep the fridge door closed. You can also move the jugs into a cooler filled with drinks to minimize opening the fridge. Remember, if your power is off, the corner store will not have ice either.
-The refrigerator will keep food cold for about 4 hours if it is unopened. A full freezer will hold the temperature for approximately 48 hours (24 hours if it is half-full) if the door remains closed. If your freezer is not full, fill it up with everything you can think of before the power goes off, i.e. water bottles, jugs of milk, even newspapers to fill in empty space.
-If you run out of drinking water, everyone who has a hot water heater has access to 40 or so gallons of clean water. Simply drain the water from your hot water heater via the valve on the front. Also, if you have a washer in your home, fill the washer with water, when it starts the wash cycle, turn the washer off and you have gallons and gallons of fresh drinking water. Filling the bathtub is also a good idea.
-30 or 40 gallon plastic trash cans are a good place to store large amounts of water for flushing toilets, washing dishes, and drinking if need be.
-Newspapers are good to soak up water with. You don’t want to clean up water that may seep into the house with towels because if there is no power for prolonged periods you have no way to wash and dry wet towels. Newspapers are easily cleaned up and can be thrown away.
- Do laundry and wash dishes before the storm hits. When the power goes out you don’t want heaps of dirty dishes or clothing to deal with.
-Charge up all you electronics before the power goes off.
- Fill your car with gas and have cash on hand because ATM’s will not work.
-Stock up on can goods and make sure you have a manual can opener.
-Batteries, flashlights, candles, and lanterns are a must have.
-A good cheap way to keep clean without power is to take wet washcloths, put a little soap on them, and seal them in zip lock bags…homemade handi-wipes.
-If you are on medication, get your scripts filled before the storm.
- Don’t seal your car windows up airtight. When the pressure drops your window’s can implode.
Plastic bags. Water is the enemy of all electronics. Portable gear—mobile phones and GPS navigators, for example—which will be used heavily during natural disasters are especially vulnerable. Make sure you protect them in resealable plastic, zipper-locked sandwich bags. Batteries and other devices—such as your back-up external hard drive should also be packed in protective plastic.
If possible, sensitive and pricey gear—such as your HDTV—should be moved away from windows, which can shatter and bring in damaging wind-tossed water.
(Contractor trash bags to cover them too)
There are some great tips regarding protecting you electronics on this web page..
Make sure you have extra items for your pets!
Dry pet food (at least 5 days worth for each pet, but for what they’re projecting with this storm [Sandy], use your own discretion)
Canned pet food (if they eat that, and to cut the dry food to make it last longer)
Pet medications (If you’re like us and have pets with health concerns, call your vet ASAP to get refills if they need it!)
Pet blankets/bedding (they will be scared and need their cozy place beside you)
Toys and Treats (just like children, they will get antsy if kept inside too long and need to be kept busy)
Clean, dry towels
Paper towels (in case they get wet, or if they have accidents in the house)
Plastic bags (to put said accidents in)
Have stationary crates or travel crates at the ready (in case you need to bug out, you need to take them with you! I cannot stress this enough — they need a safe, and readily available form of safe transportation in case SHTF and you need to leave)
Everyone stay safe!
This storm may bring some cold weather with it. Here’s a few good tips on how to stay warm….
When trying to stay warm, it’s a good idea to consolidate your bodies in one room. The heat from your bodies alone will raise the temperature in the room a notch or two. But you need to properly close off and seal those unused rooms.
Make sure any heating vents are sealed shut in those rooms. If you have magnetic register covers, great. If not, use something nonflammable and tape it over the vent.
Also make sure the windows in that room are properly sealed as described above. Just because you’re not in that room, doesn’t mean it won’t help. Everything counts. And seal the door as described above, also. Remember… another barrier between you and the frigid cold outside is a good thing.
Warnings & Other Things to Consider
Stay in smaller rooms. The smaller the room, the less the heat will dissipate.
Try to stay in one room. The more you leave the room, the more warm air escapes. Choose a room next to the bathroom and make a insulated tunnel to and from for easy bathroom trips.
When dealing with any kind of heating (gas, propane, kerosene, wood), make sure to have proper ventilation. These do use of oxygen, so not only do you have things like carbon monoxide to worry about, you have lack of oxygen to be concerned with— aka— hypoxia.
Let as much sun into your home as possible!
More “keep warm info” on the web page below
This video has a few very helpful tips. In the case of Sandy, I guess you should turn your heat up instead of the AC like in the video.
Home Preparation – Hurricane Preparedness
This woman does a good job with basic hurricane prep info.
WeatherHelp How to Prepare For A Hurricane
“IF” the storm hits for most the biggest problem for most will be a LACK OF ELECTRICITY.
The second biggest problem, but for a smaller number of people, will be NO FRESH WATER.
With that in mind one should plan accordingly for most likely scenario for most to less likely:
In order of importance:
*Emergency Lighting + Batteries (if battery powered) or Lamp Oil (if oil fueled):
*Water for drinking (min of 2 gal/day/per x 5 days x no in household + extra)
*Radio (battery, solar, or crank up)
*Nonperishable Food for at least 5 days (10 is better)
*Way to cook food + fuel for whatever system you use
*Paper supplies (toilet paper, paper towels, paper plates, plastic utensiles etc.)
*Baby Wipes (for cleaning yourself up with without having to take a shower)
*Full tank of gasoline in EVERY vehicle
*Extra gasoline (since without power service stations can’t pump and sell gasoline) (store OUTSIDE of house)
extras if one has time and money:
*Tarp in case of roof or siding problems (and nails to tack it down with)
*Plastic Sheeting and Duck Tape
*Way to Heat your shelter: One way is a Keroscene Heater + fuel to run it for at least 5 days (3 gal/day for a 24,000BTU round one – the best all round inexpensive emergency heating source imo)
(if it is new or hasn’t been used for awhile run it outside for AT LEAST 3 hours BEFORE using it inside – 6 hours is better … btw MOST noticable fumes come from heat caused fuel evaporation at shutdown, so as soon as shutdown for any reason take outside so as to keep fumes out of house)
*Chain Saw - gasoline powered only
*Camping Toilet (with the biggest holding tank you can get) (Be sure to “Precharge” Flushing Tank) (easier and cleaner to deal with than using regular toilet if no water available)
extra extra’s
*Camping style Perkolator Pot (plus the small round filters they use ) for making coffee!!
*Snacks
*Several Decks of cards
*Battery powered TV
Lets keep this list going!
- Anonymous
