Observations in surviving Hurricane Ian

[melm00se]

I live in Venice, FL (about 20 miles south of Sarasota and about 60 miles north of Ft Myers).

We got hit by Hurricane Ian and after having no power for 5 days or so and having to decamp for Tampa to stay with family for a couple of days, I would like to make some comments/suggestions:

Improve communication

While we had radio stations broadcasting throughout the storm and recovery, they could not provide super detailed information. They pointed people to the various websites for the power company, local government, their station, the local TV station etc.

There was a slight problem with that: No power? No internet? No cellphone coverage? Prevents you from accessing anything like that.

We were lucky that the emergency alerts came thru but nowhere near real or near real time.

Applications - in emergencies, apps should be trimmed back to text based. Too many apps are graphics heavy and don't work if you don't have enough bandwidth (if you have bandwidth at all).

Preparation

You don't wait for an evacuation announcement to be made. If you think its going to be bad: go. If you can see the ocean: go. If you feel that you have to stay, be prepared.

Make sure that you have batteries and buy them well in advance. As this was not our 1st hurricane, we buy/upgrade/replace our batteries on a 12 month cycle which starts a month before hurricane season.

Have a couple of those external batteries for cellphones and keep them charged.

If you have a generator (not everyone can afford one but some do), do the same with gasoline. Your car takes it, so does your lawnmower, so keeping 5 or 10 gallons fresh is not a huge burden.

Have a half dozen or so freezer packs. Toss 'em in the freezer if you are covered by the cone. Also have a decent sized cooler. Mine is a 60 quart one and holds 25 pounds of time leaving the top half for food.

Trim back on the food you have that requires cooling. We screwed up this year and had too much and lost $500+ or so in freezer/fridge contents.

Have a grill and the necessary fuel to make it go (we have 2 big bags of charcoal at all times).

Community

Know your neighbors. Especially the older ones. They may have health issues and may need help. (Foe example, my new neighbors next door: she has diabetes and her insulin needs to be kept cool. We made room in our cooler for it and then made friends with our neighbor a few doors down who had a generator when we went to family).

While we did lose quite a bit of food, we cooked up quite a bit and shared with our neighbors who did not think that far out.

[jimfields33]

1. Call your insurance company to see if they cover your lost food.

I lost power in a storm in Maryland a number of years ago and lost the food in the refrigerator. I called the insurance company and they give me $300 for replacement. I told him I didn’t have that much, but that was their standard. So 500 you probably won’t get but you might get 300. Just a thought.

[melm00se]

13. This would fall under

hurricane rider which carries a pretty hefty deductible plus it is likely that any claim will lead to getting canceled.

[usonian]

2. Glad you made it OK. West Coast chiming in.

We all have evacuation kits and plans ready.

I have a propane-powered generator. Many have smaller gasoline-powered generators mainly to keep the fridge cold, lights and communications going. When I was shopping for generators, almost all the reviews were from the hurricane belt.
Since we in the boondocks have wells, backup power also means water.

If you store gasoline, don't forget to add some stabilizer.

And keep your gas tank full. Gas stations need electricity to run.

If you have friends or relatives who can put you up safely in emergencies, stay on good terms!

Good luck. Be as safe as possible.

[genxlib]

3. I have been there from South Florida

Wilma, Irma, Andrew...

My biggest add to your list would be to add water bottles to your freezer to fill up all the available space. Do that in addition to turning the freezer to it coldest setting.

If you do it early enough then the frozen water will keep the freezer colder for longer. You can also move bigger bottles into the fridge to keep it from getting to warm.

Then BBQ like a fiend as the meat defrosts.

You can always drink the water as it melts.

We carried out freezer for a number of days this way.

Glad to hear you came through OK

[Hekate]

8. I put up ice water as well. Only caveat: don't fill to top or the bottle splits...

I save the gallon jugs from the distilled water for my CPAP, and refill to freeze in our big upright in the garage. I label them “soft water” if not for drinking later — or “drinking water” in case I end up needing to use them for cooking or drinking.

In case of power outages I transfer several to the kitchen fridge and freezer. In case of fire (I’m on the West Coast) I get the hell out.

Glad you are okay as well.

[genxlib]

9. Yes. I left that part out

The good thing is that most commercial bottles have some indentations built in that can account for that. I regularly freeze store bought bottled water without an issue. It does bulge but simply fills the indentations.

[bluecollar2]

4. Last couple of hurricanes I've had to deal with were

Irma and Maria. Ian just brushed me this year.

I'm glad you started this thread.

I'll put in my $.02 shortly.

[Deep State Witch]

5. My MIL is there, too

Off of Venice Blvd near Pinebrook, near the new police station. She survived with some roof damage and downed trees, but never really lost electric. When we were visiting in May, there was an effort in Venice to bury the power lines. It was happening right outside her house, which made life in her spare bedroom interesting. I really wish that she had evacuated, though. She pulled this "I'm going to trust in God to protect me" bullshit. Well, I guess God was so busy protecting her that He let Ft. Myers get demolished!

[melm00se]

14. for water to get that far inland (I live in the Plantation a bit farther east)

you would need an epic storm surge (20+ feet) to get that far inland.

[Deep State Witch]

15. Yeah, We Weren't Worried About That

I mean, it would have to come up from the InterCoastal straight up Venice Ave. We were more worried about trees with her. Although her old place on the island probably sustained a lot of damage.

[JCMach1]

6. In Florida, have fuel based/hurricane lamps on hand as opposed

To just battery based systems. Batteries run out.

Freeze empty water bottles to use as ice and then to drink. Fill the bathtub to flush the toilet.

And remember, net will go out simply from power failures along the systems... Even excluding physical damage.

SMS will usually be the last system to go.

[GusBob]

7. Been thru alot of storms, good post

Communication is key in any disaster from school shootings to hurry-canes

I will never forget when Katrina hit NO the next day nobody knew when the levees were breached, some thought the storm had past and they were OK. There was actually a DU post along the lines of "Looks Like NO made it thru!" if I recall correctly

I would add there are 3 phases to the storm, each with their own challenges
1. Prior to the storm in the pre-preparation panic, the lines at gas stations, etc. People can lose their heads in the panic
2. During the storm itself of course
3. After the storm can actually be the worst, no power, fatigue and etc Again, folks can lose their minds and many accidents can happen then

If you prep well and early enough as you suggest, you can manage all 3 more better

I would add to your list: supply of meds, good first aid kit and as much cash as you got on hand

One thing we found with no AC, power or shower: Plenty of baby powder helps on sleep at night

[Hekate]

10. Melm00se, this is a great post and a great thread. I'm glad you're okay.

[crickets]

11. K&R for the post and the discussion.

[Kaleva]

12. +1

[MerryBlooms]

16. r&k ❤