Hurricane Preparedness

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Running a homestead can be enough to deal with on its own, but for some of us, we have the added pressure of worrying about hurricanes. Hurricane preparedness on the homestead might be a little different than preparing for normal residents.

Afterall, we typically have many animals to deal with! We often have many out buildings animal pens, and feed to deal with too.

You may have to evacuate. Anytime a hurricane is headed anywhere near us, I pack up some things. Plus, I make sure I have any emergency supplies out and ready to use.

Like flashlights, lanterns, candles, emergency food, etc… I have a whole list that you can print out. I’ll link to it below.

Another first important step is to make sure you fill up your vehicles and gas cans. Make sure your generator is ready to run if you have one. It’s also a good idea to make sure your chainsaw is ready too!

Supplies

Make sure you have all the supplies you’ll need. All of these items need to be in travel-friendly packs. Laundry baskets, I like these collapsible ones. They come in handy for this use! They are easy to store stuff in and easy to grab and go if need be.

Use my handy Hurricane Preparedness Checklist to make sure you have all of your supplies! No sign up required, just a REAL FREEBIE!!!!

Download Hurricane Checklist & Storm Prep List!

Certainly, medicine is very important to think about. If you or a loved one has a prescription you want to have at least a month’s supply if possible.

When a category 1 came through here last time, I couldn’t get my son’s medicine for over a month!!!

Gas & Other Necessities

Go to the store and the gas station. Grab necessities like water and food. While your out, fill up your gas tank on your way back from the store, don’t forget to get some gas for your chainsaws, generators and other aftermaths/clean up tools! Additionally, it’s important to get gas as soon as you can. The line at the gas station undoubtedly gets long real quick!

Charge All The Things!

Charge your cell phones, tablets, laptops, and any other devices you might want to use when the power’s out. Think about buying a portable power bank in the near future for next time!

Evacuate or Not to Evacuate?

Evacuate or no? Many people wait to decide to evacuate until 1-2 days or even less before the storm hits. Even if you think you’re not going to evacuate, have a plan on where you could go if you HAVE to. The people who survived Katrina had no idea how bad it was going to be.

Many of them had no idea, that they would have to be rescued off the roof of their own homes. That’s why it’s necessary to have a place picked out, to evacuate to just in case you change your mind (before it’s too late). Some things to think about when deciding whether to evacuate or not.

* Evacuation may be necessary if you live in a mobile home, manufactured home, or a very old home. Even a category 1 hurricane might be strong enough to do damage to these kinds of homes and evacuation may be necessary.

* Watch the news to see if your area or type of home is up for a voluntary or mandatory evac.

* Local government websites will have information on the necessary procedures. They should be able to inform you about storm-related public services, such as shelters, evacuations, and emergency supplies that are available in your area.

Create An Evacuation Plan For Your Family

Decide what to do with your animals. If you’re traveling with domestic animals check out the preps for pets page to learn what to pack for them.
An emergency meeting place in case anyone in your group gets lost.
Designated contact person – Pick someone that is out of the hurricane path. This person can relay important information on your whereabouts to the rest of the family. Also, make sure to tell them your destination, when you’re leaving, and so on.
Communication plan – If you get split up have a communication plan. This can include phone calls, text, the Red Cross App, etc…
Create emergency cards for each member of your family. Include important information like name, address, emergency contact number, etc…
Pack a bug out bag for each family member.
Find an acceptable route.
Pick an alternate route in case of heavy traffic or other reasons.
Pack – Use my free hurricane preparedness checklist to pack.
Emergency car kit – Including jumper cables, towline, gas can, road maps, first aid kit, and other helpful supplies.

Pets and Livestock

Pets/Livestock: Don’t forget about your pets/livestock! Please make sure you have a plan that includes your pets. For domestic animals, make sure you have travel accessories, and all of their food, medicine, and first aid ready to go.

If you have livestock here are some tips:

* Check in your nearby (away from the storm’s path) Homesteading Facebook groups for people offering safe passage during the storm for you and your pets. I’ve seen many nice and amazingly generous people offering their homes to strangers and even their animals!

* Release large livestock from their barns into a place that can provide some cover, such as a wooded area, preferably on higher ground. If locked in their pen/barn the building/structure could come down on them causing a lot of damage to them.

* Check your pet’s first aid kit and make sure it’s full. You’ll want to make sure you have plenty of bandages, ointment, and medical tape for any injuries that may be sustained during the storm.

* After the storm, you can keep your animals safe while you clean up by tying them up in a safe area. Make sure you have extra rope, and ties on hand.

* During a storm, it’s a good idea if your animals have your contact information on them, you know like we do with dogs. I’ve seen people use spray paint or marker maybe? I wouldn’t want to spray paint my animals, but if it means they come home, maybe it’s not such a bad thing. You could also use a metal tag on a collar like we use on dogs.

Supplies And Medicine For Animals

* Store enough medicine for at least 1 month or more. When disaster hits, supply for items like medicine tends to run low for a long period of time. When trees and power lines are down the mail trucks and semi-trucks may have a hard time getting through to serve their deliveries.

* Keep enough feed and other necessary supplies to last a week or more. * Keep all supplies, feed, medicine, etc… in a dry place that can withstand high wind, and flooding.

Sandbags

The city I live in makes sandbags available (up to 15 per household). You have to bring a shovel and fill the bags yourself, but hey free sand and bags. Find out if your city has a program like this.

Safe Place or Room

Identify a safe room within your home. The safest place to be during a storm is obviously underground like a basement. However, if you live somewhere like Florida where those kinds of things don’t usually exist. The next best thing would be a room without windows and without an outer wall. A closet might be a good idea.

Bring a few supplies into your safe room. Flashlight, lanterns, a deck of cards, water, snacks, blankets, pillows, and other comfort items.

Batten Down The Hatches!

Prepare your home and your land. Install hurricane shutters or board up the windows. Boarding windows can help prevent damage to windows and help keep the wind and rain out of the house.

Learn more about boarding up windows by reading the storm prep article too.

Clean up Outside

It is imperative that you clean up any debris laying around outside. Store garbage cans in a shed. This will help shield them from the wind. In addition, store equipment like lawnmowers in a shed or undercover.

Garbage should be taken to the dump if you have the time.

Lawnmowers, grills, garbage cans, tools, coolers, plants, dog houses, feed buckets, metal signs, and any other equipment that you store outside should be stored preferably in a shed.

Or if you don’t have space in a shed, store them up against a strong structure. Lightweight items should be weighed down with heavy items so they don’t take off and become airborne.

Clean up Inside

If you have time before the storm comes, do the laundry! It makes it easier to pack with plenty of clean laundry. Get the dishes done, have some easy dinners so that there are fewer dishes to clean. Pack up any important items. Like photos, or expensive gear that you don’t want to lose.

Check out the dot gov website for more information on prepping for a hurricane!

Also, The HouseWife Modern has some more great tips, be sure to check her post out!

Use my Free Printable Hurricane Preparedness Printable Checklist (free and no signup required) to make your list and check it twice!

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