Hurricane Prep Toolkit
Top things to remember when preparing your home in Central Florida for hurricane season
For people who have lived in Central Florida for many years, hurricane preparedness is almost an essential part of our learning as residents. We learn that each season, there is always something new that we can improve upon and to add to our hurricane prep-toolkit. At U.S. Aluminum, we want to make sure you and your families feel safe, secure, and prepared during hurricane season. Below we have listed a few reminders, tips and tricks for your toolkit.
Outdoor Living:
Remember to prepare your outdoor living space by removing your outdoor lawn furniture, decorations and any large items that can be moved with the wind. Don’t forget bring in items like trash cans and hanging plants.
Fill all of your equipment. Fill your propane tanks and make sure they are secured outside in the best way that you can. Put fresh gasoline in your chain saw, for any necessary tree trimming, and fuel your vehicles for any necessary evacuation. If you are fueling your equipment, you might want to consider adding fuel stabilizer which will help keep your fuel ready to go for as long as two years, if, best case scenario, the hurricane changes direction.
Home:
Set your refrigerator to its coolest setting so that in the event of a power outage your food is kept cold. The American Red Cross recommends keeping an instant read thermometer to make sure foods are at the recommended temperature of 40 degrees or below.
Freezer trick: Place a cup of water in your freezer. Once the water is frozen solid, put a coin on top of the frozen water it and leave it in your freezer. When you get home, if the coin is where you left it, your food is safe to eat! If the coin has fallen, that means the frozen water has thawed due to power outage and throwing your frozen items away is the safest thing to do.
Freeze large gallon bags of drinking water in the freezer. These can serve as ice packs for your cooler with prepared food, as well as proper amounts of easy drinking water and when the ice thaws out.
Heavy Plastic Tarps: Purchase heavy plastic tarps to add to your hurricane home toolkit. They are great to have in any emergency in case of any damage. It is important to cover any damage done to the home immediately. This will help avoid rain damage from leaking in from the roof and destroying flooring, cabinets and walls.
Information:
Secure your Documents: Put together a file with your homeowner’s insurance policy and contact information as well as a section with all of your significant documents such as birth certificates, passports, and any essential pieces of information.
Print out a map of your evacuation route so that you do not need to depend on phone gps systems to get to your destination.
Print numbers for power, gas, police and fire department to have at your convenience.
Have a proper plan for your pets. Certain shelters do not allow for pets so make sure to set aside some time to figure out where your best shelter options are for your entire family.
Self Care Essentials:
Refill all of your medications if necessary.
Purchase nonperishable items in the event of a power outage or evacuation.
Have ready to grab hygiene kits for you and your family for quick and easy movement in the case of an emergency.
Charge your cellphone, have a battery operated flashlight, purchase your favorite nonperishable snacks, and take evacuation recommendations seriously.
Finally, remain calm and remain focused. With proper planning, we can avoid additional forms of stress that a natural disaster might inflict on our families. Know that with a plan in place you and your family will be on one accord on how to move efficiently during times when quick movement might be necessary.