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Written by Administrator
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Saturday, 28 July 2007 19:47 |
Should I stay or should I go? This is a good question. Of course, if the state or municipality issues a mandatory evacuation order you may not have a choice. Short of that, the decision is up to you but you need to make an intelligent one. I've lived on the gulf coast for 49 years and my hurricane experiences runs from Camille to whatever the most recent one was, and I have yet to leave my home because of a hurricane.
Today all of the major media outlets which include CNN, The Weather Channel, any network news channel and any of your local stations appear to be driven more by the idea of keeping you glued to the TV with hype and sensationalism than providing timely and accurate information about the approaching storm.
For the days leading up to the storm you are better off using the internet, noaa.gov and Weather Underground for accurate and timely storm info. NOAA is where all media get the information they use to put together a forecast. Weather Underground has some excellent prahical enhancements of the NOAA data that are very helpful in evaluating a storm.
Of course it is impossible to predict the ultimate path of a storm. Both NOAA and Weather Underground provide excellent online tools to track and speculate on the path the storm will take. You can use NOAA and Weather Underground to guide you. Pay attention to wind speeds and, more importantly, storm surge heights to decide whether you are safe in your location. If the surge is going to get you leaving may not be a bad idea. If you are not subject to the storm surge and have adequate resources, food, water, a generator, etc. why should you leave and take your chances on the road? | What food should I stock up on to weather a hurricane? The best things are those items that do not require freezing or refrigeration. It would be helpful if they do not require water to prepare since you might find water in short supply. You should prepare a little check list and keep these items stocked in your pantry to avoid panic lines at the stores immediately before a storm.
[ hurricane checklist ] | What should I do about a water supply? Always stock up on water. You can buy cases of bottles water but that generates a lot of trash why not fill old coke bottles with tap water. Yyou can even freeze these of you squeeze the bottles to give a little room for expansion. Keep them in a seperate cooler and cover it with blankets and they will stay frozen for quite a time giving you cool refreshment.
It is a good idea to have your own water purification system. Boiling is fine as long as you have the fuel but a high quality filter like the Katadyn  can provide fresh drinking water without the need for a power supply. | | What should I do about a toilet? Filling the bathtubs to provide a supply of flushing water is a good idea. Also remember, wash water can be used to flush a toilet. In conservation circles this is called gray water. You can use water a couple of times by catching used wash water for a second use in the toilet. | | Do I need a generator? That depends on you sense of adventure and what you need to do. They can make life easier and, if large enough, can make you quite comfortable at the expense of noise and fuel. If you are going to wire into your house make sure you have an isolation switch to take you off the power grid. You can kill a lineman working to restore power by backfeeding current into the grid from an improperly installed generator. | | | | More to come... | | |
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 03 September 2008 22:18 )
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Hurricane Info 
